They will fly again soon, as you loose the slots if you don´´t. That is why LH kept Niki flying and burning money while doing so.

The way I see this acquisition is very positive. Lufthansa has too many airlines and sub-brands to have any use for Niki. IAG on the other hand is the perfect owner of Niki’s operation as it aligns perfectly with their Level brand. I see eventually re-branding or simply introducing Level @VIE

.

The naming has been widely discussed now, please lets keep this thread on topic.

IAG has an excellent track record with these sorts of deals and I’ll be interested to see if they make similar moves as other airlines struggle.

Can’t see this being anything but a win for Niki employees, DACH consumers, and -hopefully - AAdvantage members with some additional routing possibilities within th continent (as we currently have with Vueling).

PS - perhaps it’s because I speak Spanish but I don’t understand the confusion on vueling. Perhaps an umlaut would be a fun nod to the Germanic Vueling arm!

Hey, guys. If IAG picks up as many as 740 former Niki employees, that is 740 more than would have had jobs if they didn't buy the assets.

dfdubflyer wrote:

IAG has an excellent track record with these sorts of deals and I’ll be interested to see if they make similar moves as other airlines struggle.

Can’t see this being anything but a win for Niki employees, DACH consumers, and -hopefully - AAdvantage members with some additional routing possibilities within th continent (as we currently have with Vueling).

PS - perhaps it’s because I speak Spanish but I don’t understand the confusion on vueling. Perhaps an umlaut would be a fun nod to the Germanic Vueling arm!

Agreed! IAG has industry leading returns on capital for a group that consists mainly of ‘legacy carriers’. If you compare the financial performance of the Lufthansa Group and IAG, it is interesting to note that whilst LH Group has approx €10 billion more in annual revenues, IAG makes a similar amount of annual profits as the LH Group despite its annual revenues being around €22 billion. Now I know there will be many reasons behind this including tax rates etc, but it is clear that IAG group are clearly out performing LH Group.

LH Group led the way with European consolidation buying up flag carriers like penny sweets in the past. They have been highly successful and I have a lot of respect for the group but I can’t help but wonder if the LH Group needs to focus more on cost cutting and improving efficiencies within its airlines.

IAG have taken a much more conservative approach to growth, focusing more on organic growth in the first few years and getting an iron grip on its cost base and making its existing operations as efficient as possible. This continues throughout the businesses at every level to this day. They have done so well in cutting their cost base they are now in a position where they can compete effectively on many routes with their low cost competitors (both in short haul and long haul). In recent years the IAG Group (thanks to their prudent financial management) have been able to make strategic investments in airlines that can bring something to the group in different markets (Aer Lingus & Vueling). In addition, the airline has begun to expand BA CityFlyer to more effectively compete in the regions of the UK (thanks to their efficient cost base). Two extra Embraer 190’s have been added to the fleet for this year and expect further expansion in the medium term. LEVEL has proven its able to generate demand from new customers without canabilising the Group’s existing operations (something that has even taken the IAG Board by surprise!). Make no mistake, IAG Will make Vueling Austria a success story, they will have done their due diligence during the bidding process, they know exactly why they wanted the airline (slots) and the ability to expand in markets so heavily dominated by the LH Group.

It’s fantastic news for the former Niki employees who have found employment with IAG. It’s a big group that will offer good benefits and i’m sure if you ask any of them they would tell you they are pleased to have a job in 2018 after months of uncertainty.

Happy New Year everyone!

I think this is a good development for IAG. I think they shouldn’t be disappointed that they didn’t manage to secure Niki a little earlier, with the 25 aircraft easyJet managed to get. It is entirely possible that easyJet will loose a small fortune on ‘domestic’ DACH flights and that IAG would rather let LH to their home market, hoping LH does the same. I’m sure IAG will be pleased with the slots at PMI - routes where the Vueling brand makes perfect sense.

BAorNoWay wrote:

Agreed! IAG has industry leading returns on capital for a group that consists mainly of ‘legacy carriers’. If you compare the financial performance of the Lufthansa Group and IAG, it is interesting to note that whilst LH Group has approx €10 billion more in annual revenues, IAG makes a similar amount of annual profits as the LH Group despite its annual revenues being around €22 billion. Now I know there will be many reasons behind this including tax rates etc, but it is clear that IAG group are clearly out performing LH Group.

LH Group led the way with European consolidation buying up flag carriers like penny sweets in the past. They have been highly successful and I have a lot of respect for the group but I can’t help but wonder if the LH Group needs to focus more on cost cutting and improving efficiencies within its airlines.

I'm not quite so effusive about IAG's performance. They have done very well in cutting costs both in BA and especially in IB. I do however wonder if they are in danger of getting carried away in chopping costs on their "premium" airlines particularly when it becomes very noticeable to customers.

The introduction and extension of BOB on both short haul and long haul spring to mind as does the seat pitch reductions in short haul. When Ryanair is held up as having better seat pitch than BA then you have to wonder if management has really thought through the implications on their branding and ability to charge higher prices.

Not sure I've got anything left to say now.

{Edited after (belatedly) seeing comment from Mod above - trying to keep it on topic.}

SamYeager2016 wrote:

I'm not quite so effusive about IAG's performance. They have done very well in cutting costs both in BA and especially in IB. I do however wonder if they are in danger of getting carried away in chopping costs on their "premium" airlines particularly when it becomes very noticeable to customers.

The issues with BA are starting to raise, but IB doesnt have (and never had at least in its own market) a premium consideration. More likely the other way around.

The flight plan will show if it is more an aggressive move by IAG or a defensive move. If they stick to warm water destinations it is purely defensive.

The plot thickens as legal action is threatened that could delay/prevent the sale of Niki to IAG:

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/passe ... 40316.html

I wonder if the cancellation of the BAW Qatar A320 lease might be connected to the Niki acquisition, IAG might now have some unexpected spare aircraft to use

SCQ83 wrote:

seahawk wrote:

I agree that Vueling is not a shining brand either, but Niki is also badly damaged. Level could be a solution indeed.

Also NIKI is quite a bad brand name outside the German-speaking world (no offense to Niki Lauda). In Spanish it sounds really stupid/amateur and I suspect English speakers will think of Nike.

Indeed, other than motor racing fans (of a certain age) does the name Niki Lauda mean anything to the wider public? Or even if they recognise the name, does it encourage more people to fly that airline?

After all would Germans and Austrians want to fly with Mansell Airlines or Piquet Air!

obvisualy to many marketing geeks around here

thrust me
i am a consumer from europe

i dont care what brand fits my needs
really

that brand hyping seems to be a US thing ....

asdf wrote:

that brand hyping seems to be a US thing ....

Sad but true.

Around a decade ago I was chastised for calling a product by a generic name, and my juniors corrected me with the Official Branding as if they had sat in on all the marketing meetings.

I called them shrills for marketing dweebs.

Then I told them to get off my lawn.

It went over a treat.

They are brainwashed.

That's what using TVs as babysitters will get you.

Europe is not that brand free. Anybody who has sold package holidays knows that the airline name has an impact. Condor is well known and people are mostly positive when told they will fly Condor. TUIfly is okay too, as is Eurowings if you mention it is Lufthansa Group. Unknown names (germania for example) usually create a slight frown, but if you tell the customers it is cheap and should be okay, they do not care. However this changes when a brand had lots of negative press. When Onur was in the press for lots of problems, you could sell those flights to extremely price focussed customers only and Niki would be the same today.

And while for example "Tempo" might have become the generic name for a paper handkerchief, the brand is also very much the benchmark in the people´s mind when it comes to paper handkerchiefs. Any non "Tempo" brand will be compared to the Tempo and judged against it.

dont get me wrong

of course brands do have a meaning in europe, too
companys are developing their brands during decades
they are spending really big money on penetrating the market with them
the same thing like in der US i guess

and a lot of consumer desitions are driven by the weight of those brands
petrol stations
electronics
cars
and a lot of others

but if it comes to airlines i as a simple customer do not have the choice if i get offered a package and the airline name is XYZ
often it is even not decleared what airline will be used, it simply says „linienflug“ or else

my impression is that the typical customer does not make his travel desitions because of a airline name

if vueling can not be succsessful in europe or the DACH region it will not be because of the name but on othe parameters, operational things or else ...

btw:
yesterday there has been set a seperatw bankrupty request against NIKI at the local court in korneuburg near vienna
if the court acceptes the request employees and customers and creditors will be handled by austrian law ( wich is a lot better for them)
its not clear by now how that works out ....

The IAG deal is in jeopardy now because an Austrian consumer organisation took court action.

From Austria in German:

https://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/u ... ikiVerkauf

And Thomas Cook / Condor have also bought a piece of the AB pie. The new subsidiary Air Berlin Aviation GmbH (AOC pending) with 6 A321s will be taken over by them.

http://www.airliners.de/auch-thomas-coo ... rlin/43293

Link/Source: http://www.chinaaviationdaily.com/news/68/68121.html


"A group representing airline passengers has taken legal action to shift insolvency proceedings for budget airline Niki to Austria from Germany, in a move that could endanger the sale of the Air Berlin unit to Britain's IAG."

"Fairplane, seeking to recover more than EUR 1 million(US$1.2 million) it says Niki owes to passengers, filed separate legal cases on Tuesday to block insolvency proceedings in Berlin and to open them instead in Austria."

"Although the sum sought is relatively small, a spokesman for Air Berlin liquidator Lucas Floether said the complaint could derail the sale of Niki to IAG's low-cost Vueling operation that was agreed last week."

If the sale of NIKI is blocked could we see Niki Lauda come back and look to buy back is airline.

Fairplane is a for-profit legal firm. They don't want to lose the chance to make a 25% fee off all those claims. Somehow in the course of the article it was twisted from "a group representing airline passengers" to the more lofty (and capitalized) "Passenger Rights Group". Sounds very official.

There are already several threads on this set of topics.

However, those pettifoggers (owning claims of only 1800 Euros) just suck! They harm IAG, they harm Niki employees, they harm future competion - they are just disgusting creatures!

The thing is, the court is going to announce a verdict tomorrow (Thursday). But this is just the lowest court in the hierarchy and whatever they decide can be appealed. This means the sales contract of IAG will be dormant for an unknown period. Niki is likely to loose all slots at PMI, VIE, ZRH, DUS, TXL...

Kilopond wrote:

There are already several threads on this set of topics.

However, those pettifoggers (owning claims of only 1800 Euros) just suck! They harm IAG, they harm Niki employees, they harm future competion - they are just disgusting creatures!

1800 euros is a sizeable amount to many. Thats almost a full monthly wage in most of western and central EU (Germany and Austria included), and over twice the monthly wage in most of eastern europe! People can't afford to forfeit that amount of money in order to guarantee some complete strangers job, or help some multinational conglomerate earn more money.

The whole EU261 compensation gravy train is getting out of hand. There is no way that these claims management companies should be allowed to stand in the way of the airline industry functioning competitively and to block the IAG/Niki deal if it would go ahead otherwise. Niki is bankrupt today so like all other creditors, customers owed compensation have to stand in line and see if there is a payout. Nothing in the EU261 legislation makes them secured creditors who rank ahead of others in a bankruptcy situation and it is simply someone trying to make a name for themselves to the detriment of other people's jobs and future competition. Disgraceful. The EU needs to reform EU261, cut out the compensation firms and mandate a timescale for airlines to respond to customers - which is the only reason these bloodsuckers ever grew up to begin with.

well, local media reports the shift of the process from germany to austria does help the customers and the employees of NIKI a lot because they have far more rights and garanteed payments in austria than in germany.
and because NIKI is an austrian based company with mostly austrian customers and austrian employees they seem to have good cards to get the process shiftet to austria ...

Interesting article from Anna Aero this morning regarding the IAG takeover of Niki including route analysis:

http://www.anna.aero/2018/01/04/iag-set ... d-austria/

The Berlin court has now rejected this (article in German only).

But unfortunately, as said in reply #124 above, this is the lowest court in Germany. The decision will be appealed in higher courts, and may take a long time to settle.

austrian press news (in german only)
https://derstandard.at/2000071707289/Be ... uf-wackelt

germans court rules now that the complete insolvency process has to move to austria

it has to be an austrian insolvency process and has to follow austrian rules

it seems to be that everything has now to be startet again from scratch ..

What percentage of slots does Niki own at the respective airports, MUC/VIE/DUS/ZRH? Are there any other airports NIKI has slots that are attractive?

Outside of PMI, rather insignificant. Certainly not enough to make any dent in the LH group in DACH. LH will still have a near 70% market share in VIE (Niki would have taken them slightly above 70%).
But PMI fits the Vueling model very well, and any slots they can get at DUS or VIE are a nice icing on the cake that will allow IAG to dip a toe (not even set a foot) in DACH territory. Remains to be seen if IAG will use them as a bridgehead to grow their presence in DACH, or if they will stay defensive and just keep the current leisure routes.

According to
http://www.austrianaviation.net/detail/ ... wieder-ab/
(german only)
NIKI will start again under IAG ownership at the end of March, 2018.

Before that several aircraft will be ferried to VIE to be prepared for service with the new NIKI. First of those flights is planned for tomorrow, Jan. 12. (OE-LOC, parked in SZG). Other aircraft coming from various german airports.
Sale of tickets is planned to start Feb. 12., 2018.
The new AOC shall be valid as per Feb. 28., 2018, at which the "old" NIKI will cease to exist. The new NIKI will be a subsidiary of Vueling.
First commercial flight to take off on March 25 or 26.
There is a slight uncertainty in this though, because NIKI has filed for "secondary bankruptcy" at the local court in Klosterneuburg (responsible for companies domiciled at VIE-Airport). Should the new liquidator reject the deal with IAG - which is very unlikely - the whole plan will collapse. If he accepts the deal, the timeline is OK to be able to keep all slots.

With Wizz Air announcing a base at VIE, it really makes me wonder what IAG's strategy will be now. I think they will need to come up with a new one given that the circumstances have considerably changed.
With airport charges and fares going down at VIE, we should also keep an eye on FR in BTS. They might lose a lot of customers now.

I guess IAG wants to start "NIKI new" that quick in order to get ahead of Wizz, which begins flights ex VIE in April (Danzig, VAR, Tuzla), some in June (Rome, TLV, Valencia, Bari, MLA), the rest in November (Bergen, Billund, DTM, Kutaissi, Teneriffa, SKG, Nis, Ohrid, LCA). By this the brand NIKI, which is quite popular in Austria, keeps staying in peoples minds .

NIKI new will most probably fly mainly the "Palma shuttle" and to destinations on greek islands during the season, some destinations in Spain, Sicilly, Sardinia, Corsica and Portugal also likely, maybe Croatia too (Split, DBV). NIKI old flew different summer-destinations ex SZG and LNZ, it remains to be seen, if NIKI new will take over those as well. In winter the same applies for incoming ski-tourism flights to SZG and INN from Scandinavia, Great Britain & eventually Netherlands.

So yes, some, but not too much direct competition between NIKI new and Wizz, IMHO.

(I personally don't care about FR. Know from people who flew them ex BTS - they suck !)

Update:

http://wien.orf.at/news/stories/2889696/

in german.

Both liquidators express that they want to work together closely in order to finish the sale of NIKI as soon as possible.

Interview with Niki Lauda in today's austrian newspaper KURIER:
https://kurier.at/wirtschaft/niki-lauda ... 07.518.497
in german.

Translation by google:

KURIER: You're very successful at Mercedes, your twins are eight and you have a young wife. Why do you necessarily want an airline as a 68-year-old?

Niki Lauda: Everyone has their own ideas. Some people have the ideal to work and to go to the pension as early as possible and to lie in the sun. If someone does something that does not correspond to the ideal of beautiful life, then one wonders. I'm just different, what should I do? I can not sit still. It motivates me to accept new challenges, that's what I'm conditioned and trained in racing. A new challenge fascinates me, that's my motive.

The challenge as a life motto?

The harder it gets, in sports as well as in business, the more I am interested in something. I'm just starting to flip over when it gets complicated. That's why people often ask me, just like you do now, why are you doing this? Because it fascinates me. If I do not succeed, I can say that I have tried everything to implement my idea. If someone does it differently and better, I accept that. This is a very clear, straightforward way for me.

You have already founded several airlines and then quit. Sustainability as an airliner you can not just accuse.

In the 1970s I had the idea of ​​flying with Fokkers against the state monopoly. Then I tried to bring with the Lauda Air against the monopoly of AUA a parallel airline in the air. Which was very difficult. At that time the state was of the opinion that there is only one carrier in Austria, there was no question of competition. Then Lufthansa wanted to participate, because they were convinced of the product Lauda Air. When Lufthansa wanted to release the AUA from the alliance with Swissair, with which it quickly went downhill, I was asked if I could also take in the AUA as a partner.

Why did AUA and you not work?

Economically, it was right that AUA, Lauda Air and Tyrolean, which was then private, work together. However, I completely underestimated the cultural difference between AUA and Lauda Air. Tyrolean boss Feitl and I thought, we will accelerate the AUA with our approach and achieve all together more. The reality was unfortunately different, the opposite happened. AUA wanted to prove to us that their path is the better one to reach their destination. I had made a wrong decision then and had to retire.

Why are you out at NIKI later?

In the three years that followed, when I was not allowed to do anything, I looked at low-cost concepts, such as easyJet. From the insolvency of Aero Lloyd I founded NIKI. At that time, the best way was to immediately get together with Air Berlin to plug in all the operating systems. I started with three planes. Eleven years later we had 21 airplanes, from the second year we have always had a positive balance. It all worked perfectly, until the partner Air Berlin began the big problems.

With Air Berlin founder Hunold you understood yourself well.

First yes. But I had warned him to take over the LTU, the most expensive airline in Germany in terms of costs. Because at the same time Air Berlin would be more expensive. The expansion of Air Berlin was much too fast in my opinion. When they were already making heavy losses, the CFO came to me and said we had to sell planes that belonged to NIKI and were financed normally because Air Berlin needs cash. We would have had to lease the planes back expensive. I have explained solving your problems myself, but not with my planes. Air Berlin put pressure on it. Then I said: Not with me, buy me my shares, if you want.

So you are out again.

Do you think I enjoyed saying goodbye to NIKI? That was my company. But I could not solve the problems with Air Berlin and in this constellation nothing else was possible. If NIKI is bankrupt today, I'm not responsible.

The employees are now angry and want to go to Vueling. Some suspect that you are behind the legal dispute as to whether the bankruptcy will be settled in Germany or Austria.

I understand that the employees are worried and annoyed by this insecurity and the back and forth. That's very clear. First of all, everything goes to Lufthansa. Then Vueling gets the contract, the CEO was already in Vienna and suddenly the legal dispute results in a new situation. But to blame for the whole story is, soberly analyzed, the NIKI CEO Lackmann. He has filed for bankruptcy in Berlin and not in Austria. Had he filed for bankruptcy here, the problem would have been solved long ago - whoever would have bought NIKI.

Why are you so badly in trouble with the German insolvency administrators?

Kebekus and Flöther wanted to deal with Air Berlin and NIKI together. That's why Lackmann has also registered in Berlin. Would have been a big, very lucrative job for the liquidators. I have criticized this from the beginning because I know that NIKI is an Austrian company. I finally founded it.

With which partners did you start the race this time?

As with the two previous offers with the tour operator Thomas Cook and his airline subsidiary Condor. I need an operational partner to fly in March. For example, for crew planning and sales. Everything must be solved if we get the contract.

And the planes? They landed at Lufthansa.

I have already negotiated with Lufthansa. We secured 15 planes. It will take three to four weeks until the airbuses of my on-demand carrier Lauda Motion get the necessary AOC (Air Operator's Certificate). Vueling, on the other hand, needs a new AOC, which will take at least three months. However, NIKI has to fly in March when the summer timetable begins.

You told the staff that the planes are already booked. How should this work?

We have already organized the workload for all 15 aircraft. With Thomas Cook but also with other tour operators were already conducted preliminary talks.

Will Vienna become the main location for NIKI again?

Yes, NIKI last had only two planes here. I want to rebuild Vienna and carry out the majority of flights from here. This will take some time, because most of the slots are currently in Germany. We also want to fly there, but the main location is Austria.

The financing is secured? The creditors' committee wants bank guarantees.

You can assume that the financing is secured. Of course, I can not name the purchase price publicly.

Can you reveal something about your concept?

Lauda Air has been awarded 35 times and was famous for its service. Also at NIKI we only had positive feedback. Today it is even easier to differentiate, because the economy passengers get nothing anymore. We have to transport passengers differently from A to B than the competition. You can only win by distinction and a better product. DO & CO will be back on board.

Again to the employees. At the Lauda Air, the flight attendants had to clean the toilets and the pilots of NIKI were employed by you at a personnel leasing company. They never had the reputation of being a social employer.

For me, flight attendants never had to clean toilets, such a nonsense. They only renewed the paper during a flight and wiped the basins. As this is usual today with all quality airlines. The personnel leasing company was chosen because the collective agreement in the industry was too limited for us in terms of flight times and schedule changes. I paid normally and the service hours and regulations were always respected.

What if the pilots demand a collective agreement?

With a collective agreement I have no problem at all. It will not be easy to re-motivate employees who have experienced so much negative. But that will be my main task. Together we have to find our way back to the old strength.

It seems the final decision regarding the buyer of Niki will be made tomorrow. I just hope that IAG pulls through because Mr Lauda seems to have managed to mismanage every one of his former airlines so far.

So wait... if I got it right VIE will be home to Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air, Lauda Motion and Vueling?

It is up to you, what you hope who will „pull through“. But if you write a sentence like this

BR715 wrote:

... because Mr Lauda seems to have managed to mismanage every one of his former airlines so far.

I expect hard facts, that proof your allegation. Only to say „seems“ is not enough. I would love to hear from you, elaborating about possible mismanagement.

redcap1962 wrote:

I guess IAG wants to start "NIKI new" that quick in order to get ahead of Wizz, which begins flights ex VIE in April (Danzig, VAR, Tuzla), some in June (Rome, TLV, Valencia, Bari, MLA), the rest in November (Bergen, Billund, DTM, Kutaissi, Teneriffa, SKG, Nis, Ohrid, LCA). By this the brand NIKI, which is quite popular in Austria, keeps staying in peoples minds .

NIKI new will most probably fly mainly the "Palma shuttle" and to destinations on greek islands during the season, some destinations in Spain, Sicilly, Sardinia, Corsica and Portugal also likely, maybe Croatia too (Split, DBV). NIKI old flew different summer-destinations ex SZG and LNZ, it remains to be seen, if NIKI new will take over those as well. In winter the same applies for incoming ski-tourism flights to SZG and INN from Scandinavia, Great Britain & eventually Netherlands.

So yes, some, but not too much direct competition between NIKI new and Wizz, IMHO.

(I personally don't care about FR. Know from people who flew them ex BTS - they suck !)

FR suck? Ah yeah course they do......

Brixerl wrote:

I expect hard facts, that proof your allegation. Only to say „seems“ is not enough. I would love to hear from you, elaborating about possible mismanagement.

Let me preface this by saying that I wrote "it seems" because I personally haven't had any first-hand experience with Lauda and thus it's necessary for me to base my opinion about him on several reports I've read. I cannot be 100% sure about his business proficiency, I'm the first to admit that I lack qualification, as well as industry experience to do so. However, I cannot help but think that everything I've read about Lauda paints a rather vivid picture of a man who founded and managed several airlines, only for them all to go belly up after some time.

It's clearly an opinion piece but I think the following article covers Lauda's business dealings quite well (the original is German only, sadly): https://www.austrianwings.info/2017/08/niki-lauda-hans-dampfplauderer-in-allen-gassen/

Relevant passages, translated into English:

In 1979, the successful Formula 1 racer founded the "Lauda Air" (I) together with the tour operator ITAS (which went bankrupt in the 1990s) , which started operation with initially two Fokker 27s. Later, a third machine was leased, but already in 1983, the airline had to cease operations. Of course, this was not the fault of the management. Instead, the oh-so-naughty AUA and idle politics had contributed to bankruptcy, so it is still rumored by Lauda's followers - and their "great master" does not contradict this portrayal.

Two years later, the next attempt with Lauda Air (II) followed, flown with two BAC 1-11 (...) But once again Niki Lauda did not manage to lead his airline economically successfully.

In response to political pressure (...), the AUA gradually had to take over the highly indebted and de facto almost insolvent Lauda Air until 2001. AUA then had quite a hard time chewing on the sale and leaseback contracts previously set up by Niki Lauda.

In 2003, Niki Lauda bought some airbuses from the bankruptcy estate of Aero Lloyd Austria. (...) and founded a new aviation company called FlyNIKI, today known as NIKI. A few months later, he brought Air Berlin on board. NIKI was never really independent on its own. (...) Crew and route planning, booking systems, etc. - all this was taken over by the German parent company.

In 2010, Air Berlin pumped another 21 million euros into the Austrian subsidiary and increased its stake to 49.9 percent. Niki Lauda remained on the board. But even then it was foreseeable that Air Berlin was in big economic difficulties and bankruptcy would only be a matter of time. Three years later, Niki Lauda pulled the ripcord and moved away from all functions at Air Berlin / NIKI.

BR715

Well they are definitely facts that can't be overlooked, I hope that username Brixerl is happy with them

Update:

https://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/unternehmen/5358489/Hochspannung-im-Kampf-um-Niki

A decision about the final buyer is expected to be made today but the process might not be finished before midnight. Both potential buyers (IAG and Lauda) have also campaigned for the personnel's favour, the personnel clearly seem to prefer IAG. Moreover, Ryanair has entered the stage once again.

What do you mean by Ryanair? They want to buy what's left of Niki or to expand in VIE?

Cunard wrote:

BR715

Well they are definitely facts that can't be overlooked, I hope that username Brixerl is happy with them

And if I am not happy with those „facts“ - and I have to admit I am not

I am from austria. I have followed all those episodes over the years. I can tell you one thing. To get to the thruth you have to dig deeper than reading austrianwings. For me thats an Austrian-fanboy-site. Don‘t trust only one source to form an opinion.

Following the acquisition of Niki by Lufthansa, which was foiled by anti-trust agencies, and the attempted sale to IAG, the bankrupt airline Niki has now been sold to its founder, Niki Lauda. He claims to have submitted his offer together with Thomas Cook, so we might see Niki be integrated into Thomas Cook. It is supposed to remain a separate brand, though, and will focus on the Austrian market. Deals have been made to keep 15 of the original 21 Niki aircraft. Despite the fleet shrinking, Mr. Lauda wants to keep as many employees as possible.

http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/niki-133.html (German)

Wonderful news! I'm glad it hasn't been bought by one of the EU3. Consolidation is bad for consumers, but this is great news.

Party at the LH HQ today.

So if they are going to be affiliated with Thomas Cook, does it mean they will concentrate on charter flights to the sunny destinations or will they launch some scheduled flights?

I guess this is the end of Vueling in Vienna.

zkojq wrote:

Wonderful news! I'm glad it hasn't been bought by one of the EU3. Consolidation is bad for consumers, but this is great news.

I'm not sure if this news is "wonderful". Lauda isn't exactly known for running airlines successful. He failed at least 3 times. He didn’t exactly act that sovereign in the Mozart crash and he’s known for being very boastful. His personal policy isn’t that famous too.

In fact most (German) media expect the pilots to resign. I don’t expect this move to be successful in any dimension. Anyway he has to partner with someone soon. The times of 20 plane private airlines in Europa are gone for a reason.

With Thomas Cook behind him, Lauda has a chance. Still, we may find ourselves at this juncture again in a few years' time.