Austrian Airlines History
Austrian Airlines was founded through the merger of Austrian Airways and Air Austria on September 30th, 1957. The first flight was made on March 31st, 1958, when Vickers Viscount 779 took off from Vienna for London, via Zurich. The airline commenced its domestic operations on May 1st, 1963, and with time, spread its services to the whole world, including United Arab Emirates. In 1969, it began its transatlantic services with flights to New York from Vienna. In 2000, it became the member of Star Alliance and also acquired Lauda Air in this year. On February 15th, 2001, it acquired Rheintalflug. The name of the airline was shortened to Austrian in September, 2003.