BA parent to acquire defunct Austrian carrier
British Airways’ parent IAG is to acquire the assets of bankrupt Austrian airline Niki, which was founded by Formula One racing champion Niki Lauda in 2003, for €20 million.
Austria’s second largest airline was sold in 2011 to Air Berlin, which collapsed earlier this year after Etihad, its biggest shareholder, withdrew its financial support.
Lauda has been trying to buy back the airline together with German carrier Lufthansa, but their bid ran into objections from the EU and the airline ceased flying on December 14, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded.
Thomas Cook’s German subsidiary Condor and TUI’s German airline Tuifly were understood to have also shown an interest in acquiring Niki, but IAG has issued a statement saying it will buy the assets and provide Niki with up to €16.5 million of liquidity.
The transaction is being made by a newly-formed subsidiary of Vueling, which will be incorporated as an Austrian company and run initially as a separate operation.
The deal is subject to EC competition approval.
The assets include up to 15 A320 family aircraft and a portfolio of slots at various airports including Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Palma and Zurich.
The new company plans to employ approximately 740 former Niki employees to run the operation.
Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: "Niki was the most financially viable part of Air Berlin and its focus on leisure travel means it’s a great fit with Vueling. This deal will enable Vueling to increase its presence in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and provide the region’s consumers with more choice of low cost air travel".
IAG said details about the new subsidiary’s branding and route network will be provided in due course, ‘when appropriate’.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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