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Niki Lauda Seals New Airline Deal with Ryanair

There seems to be no stopping former Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda from having his own airline. Having given up on his first attempt after decades of operation, Lauda is now on the verge of beginning a second attempt, this time with some serious backing.
Ryanair takes over LaudaMotion 1 photo
Photo: Twitter/@StHartl
According to Forbes, the three-time Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion has struck a deal with low-cost giant Ryanair to allow the Irish company to buy a majority stake in Austria’s LaudaMotion, which currently operates chartered business flights.

The 75 percent stake to be bought by Ryanair would cost the company no more than $50 million. Lauda will remain onboard as airline chairman. The goal of the takeover is to create a low-cost company operating from Austria.

“With access to the Ryanair fleet and financial resources, LaudaMotion will now grow more rapidly, as it seeks to compete in a market which is dominated by Lufthansa’s high airfares with its Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries,” said Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary according to the source.

Lauda founded his first airline, Lauda Air, in 1979, while he was still racing and retiring repeatedly from Formula 1. The company began operations six years later, linking several Austrian cities. It slowly grew to cover international destinations as well.

In 1991, a Boeing 767-300ER operated by Lauda Air crashed in Thailand after takeoff, killing 223 passengers and crew. The private company survived the crash and lasted several more years until was merged into Austrian Airlines in 2013. Three years after that, Lauda took over Amira Air, renaming it LaudaMotion.

The announced takeover of LaudaMotion would allow Ryanair an expansion of aircraft assets. The Irish group only operates Boeing 737-800 planes and has been planning for several years to expand their portfolio to include Airbus.

Ryanair will provide LaudaMotion with six aircraft and crew, planning to reach profitability by year three of operations and increase the fleet to 30 Airbuses.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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