Austrian Airlines

Early years

On 3 May 1923, Walter Barda-Bardenau received approval from the Austrian government to establish an airline. He participated in the newly formed Austrian Airlines (German: Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG) with one percent, with the remaining shares going to the Austrian railway transportation company (50%) and the Junkers-Werke (49%).

The company's initial fleet consisted of Junkers F 13s. On 14 May 1923, the first flight performed by the fledging airline was conducted between Vienna and Munich, piloted by Hans Baur. The landing occurred in Jedlesee, followed by a conversion to a float and a subsequent flight to Budapest. Junkers Trans European Union was the company operating the flight. Its destinations included Munich, Budapest, Nuremberg, Graz, Klagenfurt, and St. Wolfgang. Seaplanes served targets in Austria. September 1926 saw the dissolution of the union.

From 1927, the company procured new aircraft with support from the government. During the same year, it formed an operating partnership agreement with Deutsche Luft Hansa. The two companies jointly planned and operated line connections and created a route network to Berlin, Budapest, and Milan. In 1932, Luft Hansa Junkers held a 49% interest in the company. Following its recovery from the Great Depression, the firm expanded its fleet by adding several Junkers Ju 52/3 m. The firm's rapid growth throughout the 1930s led to it becoming the fourth-largest airline in Europe at one point.

In 1938, the company began planning routes to Rome, Paris, and London, using a fleet of Junkers Ju 90 aircraft. Following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in March 1938, these plans were promptly abandoned. From 1 January 1939, the airline was fully under the control of Lufthansa. Lufthansa deleted the company from the commercial register in June 1939.

After the Second World War, Austria was again separated from Germany. While it regained its independence due to the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, the newly reconstituted nation initially lacked a national airline. In 1955, two distinct companies, Air Austria and Austrian Airways, swiftly emerged to address this unoccupied market. On 4 April 1957, Austrian Airlines was formed under the corporate name Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG through the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways. On 30 September 1957, the new entity commenced operations, performing its maiden flight on 31 March 1958 when a leased Vickers Viscount 779 took off from Vienna for a scheduled service to Zürich and London.

During early 1960, six new-build Viscount 837s were delivered to Austrian Airlines; unlike earlier aircraft, which had been leased, these were owned by the company and quickly displaced the former. Operations expanded quickly, opting to launch domestic services for the first time on 1 May 1963. Within ten years of operations, Austrian Airlines' financial situation had improved considerably; its share capital had reportedly increased from an initial ATS 60 million to reach ATS 290 million in 1957.

Jet era

During its first decade of operation, Austrian Airlines experienced competition from Adria Airways; passengers from the Austrian provinces of Styria and Carinthia were routinely commuting to neighbouring Yugoslavia to use airports in what is now Slovenia. On 18 February 1963, Austrian Airlines ordered its first jet airliner, the Sud Aviation Caravelle, which operated in an 80-seat configuration. During 1969, the airline broke new ground with the launch of its first long-distance route to New York City in the United States (early flights were made in co-operation with Belgian Sabena with a layover in Brussels). However, the operations ceased on 31 March 1971 due to low traffic.

The Caravelle formed a core part of Austrian Airlines' fleet until 1973. Deliveries of the American-built jetliner, the Douglas DC-9, commenced in 1971. Starting in 1971, Austrian Airlines opted to standardise its fleet. By the end of that year, the firm had permanently withdrawn all Viscounts, leaving it with an all-jet fleet. Austrian Airlines centred its new fleet around a core of nine DC-9-32s, which it would operate for short- and medium-haul flights for many years. Austrian Airlines introduced the first of five DC-9-51s, an improved model, into service during 1975.

On 13 October 1977, Austrian became the first customer for the DC-9-80, placing an initial order for eight. On 26 October 1980, the first MD-81, which was capable of longer-range flights than earlier models, made its first commercial flight with the airline, flying from Vienna to Zürich. During 1984, Austrian became the first customer for the MD-87 and played an influential role in its development. The first MD-87 entered service at the end of 1987, as did the MD-83 from 1990, while six of the airline's MD-81s were upgraded to MD-82 standards.