Niki Lauda's Laudamotion To Launch March 25

Laudamotion, Niki Lauda’s rebranded airline that he bought from bankrupt Air Berlin as leisure carrier Niki, will launch flights from March 25.

The airline will fly from Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich with a fleet of 14 Airbus aircraft. Flights from Austria will start in June, the Vienna-based carrier said.

A company statement said the first few months will focus on partnership building and marketing the airline’s flights, after it signed a cooperative sales initiative with German leisure airline Condor.

“Laudamotion has signed a contract of carriage with Condor,” Niki Lauda said. Condor will market Laudamotion flights and handle selected operational functions including crew planning as a service provider, Lauda added.

Condor’s Managing Director Ralf Teckentrup said his airline is marketing Laudamotion “to fill a gap in the European vacation flight market. Our customers will benefit from this by having a larger selection and low-priced starter offerings.”

The rebranded Austrian airline will initially concentrate on flights to popular leisure destinations in Spain, Greece and Italy. Palma de Mallorca will be served daily from Vienna and Salzburg, with flights from Graz, Innsbruck and Linz up to three times a week.

Greek destinations Santorini, Crete and Kalamata will also be available from the airline’s main base, Vienna.