Ryanair has completed a 100 per cent takeover of Austrian carrier Laudamotion, with up to 20 new routes set to be announced from Vienna, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf and Palma in the next couple of months.

Last year the Irish carrier took a 75 per cent stake in Laudamotion – the airline formed by ex Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda following the purchase of the assets of grounded carrier Niki from bankrupt parent company Air Berlin.

Ryanair confirmed that it has now completed the purchase of 100 per cent of the carrier, and announced a number of targets and initiatives:

  • Growing Laudamotion’s fleet from 19 aircraft in summer 2018, to 25 this summer, and 30 aircraft by summer 2020
  • Increasing traffic to 7.5 million passengers in the full year to March 2021
  • Creating 400 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers across four bases in Vienna, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf and Palma

Ryanair said it would confirm details of up to 20 new routes “in the next month or two once airport and handling negotiations have been successfully completed”, and added that this winter Laudamotion’s Vienna base will increase to 11 aircraft, making it Vienna’s No. 2 airline, “just behind Austrian Airlines”.

ryanair.com