Styrian Spirit was an Austrian regional airline based at Graz Airport that built up a sizeable European route network within a few years, before financial troubles and a failed rescue forced it into insolvency in 2006.
Photo: Martin Oertle · License: CC BY 2.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons
Founded in Graz, Rapid Network Growth
Styrian Spirit was founded on 25 December 2002 by HGI Beteiligungs AG and began flying from Graz Airport on 24 March 2003. The Austrian state of Carinthia took a stake of nearly 43 percent through Kärnten Tourismus Holding, which gave the airline additional regional footholds under the brands “Carinthian Spirit,” “Salzburg Spirit” and “Slovenian Spirit,” including a route from Salzburg to Maribor in Slovenia. Its fleet latterly comprised four Bombardier CRJ200s and one CRJ700, with a larger CRJ900 on order. By December 2005, its network reached destinations in Austria, Germany, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and Switzerland, including routes from Graz to Stuttgart and Zurich and from Salzburg to Zurich and Paris.
Financial Trouble and the End
From 2005 onward, Styrian Spirit’s finances deteriorated. In September 2005, Hypo-Alpe-Adria-Bank granted the airline an unsecured loan of 2 million euros at the urging of Carinthian governor Jörg Haider, despite its already strained finances. In March 2006, Salzburg Airport pledged a further 1.5 million euros, but the rescue attempt failed amid difficult economic conditions. On 24 March 2006, Styrian Spirit cancelled all flights and filed for insolvency, with proceedings opening on 28 March 2006. The insolvency administrator put liabilities at around 9 million euros, including unpaid landing and handling fees owed to Graz and Salzburg airports. Around 152 employees lost their jobs. Reinhard Zechner, head of Kärnten Tourismus Holding, was quoted in the trade press as saying it was the end of the airline.
Further reading: The Regional Airports · Austrian Aviation History
Sources (Selection)
Part of the Austrian Aviation History section. An independent, private history project with no connection to Austrian Airlines AG or the Lufthansa Group.