Niki

History

Niki was founded by former Formula One driver Niki Lauda and launched flight operations on 28 November 2003 as an Austrian low-cost carrier based at Vienna, with additional bases at Salzburg, Graz and Innsbruck. It formed a partnership with Air Berlin from 2004, was fully merged into Air Berlin by 2011, and became a Oneworld-affiliated carrier through that relationship from 2012. When Air Berlin filed for insolvency in August 2017, a planned takeover of Niki by Lufthansa collapsed in December 2017, leaving the airline without a viable parent.

Current Operations

Niki declared bankruptcy and ceased all flight operations on 14 December 2017. Its assets were acquired in January 2018 by Niki Lauda's new venture, LaudaMotion, and Ryanair took a majority stake in LaudaMotion later that year (effective August 2018) before eventually taking full ownership; the carrier was rebranded as Lauda and its operations were subsequently absorbed into the Ryanair group as its Austrian subsidiary. Niki no longer exists as an independent airline or brand, and Ryanair/Lauda inherited its Vienna-based flying.

Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

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