Tyrolean Airways

Coordinates: 47°15′28″N 11°21′15″E / 47.2579°N 11.3541°E / 47.2579; 11.3541
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Tyrolean Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
VO TYR TYROLEAN
Founded1958 (1958)
(as Aircraft Innsbruck)
Commenced operations1 April 1980 (1980-04-01)
(as Tyrolean Airways)
Ceased operations31 March 2015 (2015-03-31)
(merged into Austrian Airlines)
HubsVienna
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programMiles & More
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 2000—2015)
Parent companyAustrian Airlines (1998—2015)
HeadquartersInnsbruck, Austria
Key people

Tyrolean Airways, officially Tyrolean Airways Tiroler Luftfahrt GmbH, was[1] an Austrian regional airline based in Innsbruck[2] with its hub at Vienna International Airport[3] and its homebase at Innsbruck Airport. It was owned by the Lufthansa Group and was an affiliate of the Star Alliance together with its parent Austrian Airlines.

Tyrolean operated regional flights under the Austrian Arrows brand on behalf of Austrian Airlines from 2003 until July 2012,[4][5] when nearly all employees and the fleet of Austrian Airlines was transferred to it following a labour dispute.[6] Following a new labour agreement, Tyrolean was merged into Austrian Airlines and dissolved as a company on 31 March 2015.[1]

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The airline was established in 1958 as Aircraft Innsbruck by Gernot Langes-Swarovski and Christian Schwemberger-Swarovski. It adopted the title Tyrolean Airways when scheduled services began on 1 April 1980.[7]

Tyrolean Airways was the only airline to operate Dash 7 airplanes into the dangerous Courchevel Airport in France.

Development as part of Austrian Airlines[edit]

The airline was acquired by Austrian Airlines in March 1998 after the original owner, Mr Gernot Langes-Swarovski, made the company available for purchase. In 2003, as part of an effort by its parent company to consolidate its brand, the fleet was rebranded as Austrian Arrows with livery changed to match that of the Austrian Airlines Group. Airline operations, however, were still managed independently by Tyrolean from its Innsbruck base.

Since 1 July 2012, all flights of the Austrian Airlines Group were carried out by Tyrolean Airways. In a consolidated effort to save Austrian Airlines from bankruptcy, the Austrian Airlines CEO at the time, Mr Jaan Albrecht fused the entire fleet and staff of the Austrian Airlines Group, approximately 460 pilots and 1,500 cabin crew, into Tyrolean to maintain operations. All Austrian Airlines Group flights — except for a single Boeing 777-200ER (OE-LPB) due to international traffic laws — were operated by Tyrolean, but maintained their Austrian flight numbers.

In October 2014, it was reported that Tyrolean's flight operations and staff were to be re-integrated into Austrian Airlines by 31 March 2015[4][5][6] as a new labour agreement had been signed.[4] Accordingly, on this date all flight operations, crew members and aircraft were transferred back into Austrian Airlines while Tyrolean Airways was dissolved after serving as a vessel to float Austrian Airlines back into operations.

Fleet[edit]

A former Tyrolean Bombardier CRJ200LR
A Tyrolean De Havilland Dash 8-400
A Tyrolean Fokker 70

The Tyrolean Airways fleet included:[8][9][10][11]

Tyrolean Airways fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A319-100 7 2012 2015 Operated by Austrian Airlines
Airbus A320-200 16
Airbus A321-100 3
Airbus A321-200
Boeing 767-300ER 6
Boeing 777-200ER 5
Bombardier CRJ-100 3 1999 2003
Bombardier CRJ-200 12 1996 2010
De Havilland Canada Dash 7 3 1980 1996
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 14 1987 2003
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 22 1991 2010
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 8 2000 2015
Embraer ERJ-145 3 2002 2003
Fokker 50 8 1994 1997
Fokker 70 6 1995 2015
Fokker 100 1 2004 Leased from Transwede Airways

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Tyrolean to merge with Austrian Airlines next spring | News Details | News from Star Alliance | News | Star Alliance Employees Portal". Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. ^ Impressum Archived 11 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Tyrolean Airways. Retrieved on 25 February 2012. "Fürstenweg 176 A-6026 Innsbruck"
  3. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 81.
  4. ^ a b c "AUA KV-Bord unter Dach und Fach". 31 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Austrian Airlines beendet Tyrolean-Experiment". 8 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Austrian, Tyrolean flight crew union near labour agreement deal".
  7. ^ "Aircraft Innsbruck". Airline History. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  8. ^ Austrian Airlines fleet list at planespotters.net Archived 10 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Tyrolean Airways Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Last flight: Austrian Airlines says goodbye to the last Dash aircraft". 5 February 2023.
  11. ^ "The Ultimate STOL DHC-7 January 2021". imageevent.com. Retrieved 5 February 2023.

External links[edit]

Media related to Tyrolean Airways at Wikimedia Commons

47°15′28″N 11°21′15″E / 47.2579°N 11.3541°E / 47.2579; 11.3541