Lauda Air Luftfahrt AG share certificate 1990

Very rare cert from this short-lived Austrian airline.  Great racing and aviation cross collectible. Coupons attached above certificate.  Very difficult to find piece.

Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH was[ an airline headquartered at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat, Austria. It was owned by Niki Lauda during much of its existence and has been a charter airline subsidiary for leisure operations of Austrian Airlines at last. On 6 April 2013, Lauda Air ceased to exist and was replaced by Austrian myHoliday, a new brand name that is used for flights and leisure offers provided by Austrian Airlines

Lauda Air was established in April 1979 by former Formula One world motor racing champion, Niki Lauda, and started operations in 1985, initially operating as a charter and air taxi service. One of the first jetliner types used by Lauda Air was the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven series 500 with these aircraft being leased from Romanian airline TAROM. It opened its headquarters in the Lauda Air Building in Schwechat, Austria. Scheduled operations were licenced and initiated in 1987; and in 1990 licences for international flights were obtained. In 1989 Lauda started its first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne, via Bangkok. In the 1990s, it started to fly its Sydney and Melbourne flights via Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Daily flights to Dubai, Cuba, and Miami via Munich followed.

Lauda Air became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000, and employed 35 as of March 2007. In 2005 the flight operation merged with Austrian Airlines, and the label, "Lauda Air" operated charter flights within the Austrian Airlines Group.

At an AAG board meeting in November 2006, plans were approved to retire the Airbus wide-bodied fleet by mid-2007, to concentrate on a Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 fleet. As a result of subsequent fleet cuts, Austrian Airlines suspended some long-haul services and Lauda Air withdrew from the long-haul charter market over the next year. This led to a refocus on the short/medium haul market, and led to the addition of a 737-800 to take over most of the charter routes. Lauda Air also had an Italian subsidiary, Lauda Air S.p.A., which ended its operations in 2007.

Lauda Air was officially merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012. All aircraft within the group were transferred to Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012, to be able to take advantage of Austrian Airlines structure. The last carried the Lauda Air livery until the closure of the brand to secure the Air operator's certificate.

The brand was retired at the start of the summer flight schedule on 31 March 2013, and was replaced by "Austrian myHoliday". It is no longer an airline but branding that is used to sell Austrian Airlines' own leisure offers.

NIKI LAUDA

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born 22 February 1949) is an Austrian former Formula One driver who was three times F1 World Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He is currently the only driver to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines (Lauda Air and Niki). He is also Bombardier Business Aircraft brand ambassador. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. He is currently working as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acts as non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, during which his Ferrari burst into flames and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. However he recovered and returned to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Scars from the injuries he suffered have left him permanently disfigured.