Welcome Air was Tyrol’s regional airline, based in Innsbruck, which flew small Dornier 328 turboprops on niche routes away from the big hubs before ending flight operations in 2017 after seventeen years.
Foto: JetPix · Lizenz: GFDL · Quelle: Wikimedia Commons
From Innsbruck into the Niche
Founded on 14 June 1995 by Jakob Ringler, Welcome Air Luftfahrt GmbH did not begin flying until 22 May 2000, with a single Dornier 328 based at Innsbruck. The airline served routes too small for the major carriers, including a year round Innsbruck to Graz service and seasonal flights to Rijeka, Nice and Olbia. From 2011 the Innsbruck to Graz route was no longer flown year round, and the airline increasingly shifted toward charter flights and wet lease work for other carriers, including Austrian Airlines on the Vienna to Linz route.
The End in 2017
In February 2015, Austrian Airlines ended its wet lease contract for the Vienna to Linz route effective 31 March 2015, prompting Welcome Air to shrink its fleet. The airline’s last flight was a charter from Antwerp to Innsbruck on 26 December 2017, and it ceased all flight operations the following day. Its former subsidiary Tyrol Air Ambulance, the company’s air rescue service, was unaffected and continues flying today.
Further reading: Air Alps Aviation · 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.