Snowy Sofia Welcomes Niki Lauda

Business | February 1, 2010, Monday // 14:01|  views

After being ousted from Lauda Air by boardroom politics in November 2000, in late 2003 Niki Lauda bought some planes from a German airline that had gone bankrupt and started FlyNiki. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Niki Lauda, owner of low-cost carrier FlyNiki and former Formula 1 world champion, landed in Sofia aboard Airbus A 319 on Monday as his company made its virgin flight to the Bulgarian capital despite the snowy blizzard.

“I will be the pilot every time the flight is serviced by Airbus A 319,” Lauda said after being welcomed by Bulgaria's Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov.

Lauda pointed out that he never allows delays in the flights that his company conducts, but was forced to make an exception to that rule due to the poor weather conditions in the Bulgarian capital.

Airbus A 319, which flew nearly 100 passengers, was forced to hover over Sofia airport for over twenty minutes as the capital was in the grip of a snow blizzard.

FlyNiki will service the flights Vienna-Sofia-Vienna once a day six times a week, with Saturdays being the sole exception.

During the working days, from Monday till Friday, the FlyNIki plane will depart from Sofia airport at 1.15 pm and will land in Vienna 1.45 pm local time.

On the same days the return flight from Vienna has been scheduled for 10 am local time.

On Sundays, the plane will depart from Sofia airport at 10,30 pm and arrive in Vienna at 11 pm. The return flight from Vienna has been scheduled for 7,20 pm local time, its arrival pencilled in at 9,50 pm local time.

Prices start from EUR 29, fees included.

From Vienna passengers may switch to other destinations – including Munich, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Paris and Zürich - benefiting from the network of FlyNiki and its partner Air Berlin.

FlyNiki is an airline owned and run by Niki Lauda. After being ousted from Lauda Air by boardroom politics in November 2000, in late 2003 Niki Lauda bought some planes from a German airline that had gone bankrupt and started FlyNiki.

It operates as a budget airline mainly from Germany and Austria.

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Tags: FlyNiki, low-cost

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