March 1998: Austrian Airlines Takes Over 100 Percent

In March 1998, the Langes-Swarovski family sold its remaining shares in Tyrolean Airways to Austrian Airlines AG, which thereby became the sole owner. Tyrolean Airways became part of the newly formed Austrian Airlines Group but continued to exist as an independent operating company based in Innsbruck with its own air operator’s certificate (AOC). Over the following years, the fleet grew strongly, nearly doubling in size compared with 1998.

New Aircraft, New Status

In 2000, the first De Havilland Dash 8-400s joined the fleet, a significantly larger and faster development of the proven Dash 8 series with up to 76 seats. In the same year, Tyrolean Airways was admitted as a member airline of Star Alliance, a status the company held until its dissolution in 2015.

A Change at the Top and a New Corporate Structure

On 1 January 2001, long-serving managing director Fritz Feitl handed over leadership to Josef Burger and Johann Messner. In the summer of 2001, the company was converted into a GmbH under the Austrian Airlines Group’s so-called “Stammhaus” (parent-company) concept. Josef Burger subsequently moved to the Austrian Airlines board as Chief Commercial Officer, a position he held until 2007, a sign of the growing integration between the parent group and its Innsbruck-based regional subsidiary.

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Sources (Selection)

• Wikipedia (German): Tyrolean Airways
• Wikipedia: Tyrolean Airways
• ch-aviation: Austrian/Tyrolean merger announcement

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Further reading: → The Austrian Arrows Brand

← Growth and Fleet Modernization (1990s) · Back to overview

This chapter is part of the detailed corporate history of Tyrolean Airways. Independent, private history project with no connection to Austrian Airlines AG, the Lufthansa Group or the Swarovski corporate group.