In the late 1970s, Montana Austria was an Austrian pioneer of long haul flying: using secondhand Boeing 707s, the private Vienna based airline flew destinations from Bangkok to New York, until an arms smuggling scandal brought it to an abrupt end in 1981.
Foto: Manfred Groihs · Lizenz: GFDL · Quelle: Wikimedia Commons
Flying the World from Vienna on the 707
Founded in 1975 by a private Austrian entrepreneur, with a name inspired by the Austrian Alps (the “Austria” suffix was added later), the company began long haul service from Vienna in 1976. Its fleet comprised two secondhand Boeing 707-100s, previously flown by Qantas and Braniff, joined in 1978 by a larger 707-300 with greater range and its own cargo door, previously operated by Wardair. Pan Am trained the crews and Aer Lingus handled maintenance. Early destinations included Bangkok via a fuel stop in Baghdad, Mombasa and New York; later came Hong Kong, Colombo, Mexico City, Anchorage, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Sharjah. The airline also flew wet lease, charter and cargo work for other carriers such as Alitalia, Nigeria’s Central Airways and Hapag Lloyd, while Tyrolean Airways fed passengers in from Innsbruck. Because Austrian Airlines resisted competition on European routes, Montana Austria stayed confined to intercontinental flying; a secondhand Boeing 747SP was considered but never bought.
Arms Smuggling and the End in 1981
In May 1981, one of the 707s was contracted for a cargo charter from Houston to Johannesburg with a stop in Cape Verde. During the stopover, customs discovered an illegal arms shipment on board and arrested the crew. The airline said it had not known what it was carrying, but the reputational damage was immense and contracts dried up. Already in July 1981, Montana Austria filed for bankruptcy and ceased flight operations that same month, leaving thousands of passengers holding return tickets to Vienna stranded abroad.
Further reading: Austrian Airlines · Austrian Aviation History
Sources (Selection)
- aerotelegraph.com: Montana Austria, the forgotten pioneer of long haul flying from Vienna (German)
- Wikipedia: Montana Austria
Part of the Austrian Aviation History section. An independent, private history project with no connection to Austrian Airlines AG or the Lufthansa Group.