Niki Lauda is no longer co-owner of Laudamotion, but has remained as chairman of the board of directors. This is the third time he has sold his airline.
Niki Lauda no longer owns Laudamotion shares. As it became known, at the end of December, the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair acquired all the shares of the airline. This was announced at a press conference in Vienna, so as not to interfere with the rehabilitation of the legend of the royal races. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.
At the same time, Lauda read out a report on the development of the company and the increase in sales. In fact, by 2022, Ryanair plans to increase the company's fleet from 19 to 40 aircraft, carry 10 million passengers a year, for which it will hire another 400 employees.
69-year-old Lauda will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors of Laudamotion. As he himself said, he will continue to work closely with the company and develop a partnership with Ryanair. However, he did not disclose the related sale of the company for his health reasons.
This is not the first time Lauda has sold his airline. He founded Lauda Air in 1979. In 2001, the company was acquired by Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of Luftahnsa. In 2003, ex-Ferrari and McLaren pilot founded Fly Niki, which was terminated in 2011.
In 2017, Niki acquired Fly Niki from the bankrupt Air Berlin and renamed it Laudamotion. The company began operating flights in March 2018 on Airbus aircraft.
