Since November 2003 – when NIKI was established – the fleet of Airbus aircraft and the number of destinations have been steadily increasing. airberlin has had a 24% share of NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH since the start of 2004 – the cooperation between airberlin and NIKI marked the first European low-cost airliner alliance.

2008 saw NIKI Luftfahrt making a profit for the fifth time in succession – in fact, it was more than twice as high as the profit recorded in 2007.

NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH has 350 employees. It carried around 2.1 million passengers in 2008. Two Airbus A321 (212-seaters), six Airbus of the type A320 (180-seaters) and two Airbus of the type A319 (150-seaters) currently fly for NIKI.

NIKI doubles profit (after tax) in 2008 to EUR 7.1 million thereby generating a net profit ratio of more than 3.1%. Compared to 2007, there was an approx. 25% increase in passenger volume and turnover − to 2.1 million passengers and EUR 229 million turnover.

NIKI is sticking with its growth strategy in 2009. Three aircraft will be added to the fleet and the aim is an approx. 30% increase in passengers.

Due to the increase in capacity, around 150 new jobs will be created at NIKI, primarily in the areas of flight operations and technology. This means the number of employees in 2009 will increase to more than 500.

In 2009, there will be some improvements in the flight plan. In June, the frequency of Vienna-Rome flights will be doubled and the additional Airbus A321 will increase the capacity of existing city flights, such as to Moscow, Zurich and Frankfurt. In addition, an airplane will be stationed in Graz which, with the Palma connection, will serve around 20 destinations to the Iberian Peninsula. NIKI will also increase tourist capacity to Turkey and Egypt. NIKI's most traditional holiday destination area, Spain, also hit a record: In the summer, there will be 90 weekly connections from Austria to the Balearic Islands or the mainland!

"This year, something totally unexpected happened. Niki Lauda flew ahead of all competitors." – Quote: Oliver Kühn, managing director of REISE & PREISE

In this year's REISE & PREISE airline survey, NIKI was chosen as the Airline of the Year 2009 in the category: "Best Low Cost Airline".

The frequent flyer survey took place on the REISE & PREISE online portal. The so-called "flightcheckers" had to fill out a questionnaire and assign grades (stars) in various categories.

An overall grade is calculated from the grades in each category.

NIKI won in 9 of 10 categories with an overall grade of 4.51 stars from a possible 6 stars.

NIKI’s fleet will be increased to a total of 9 aircraft by May 2008. This enables us to push forward with the expansion of and improvement to our route network. In March, the new route Vienna-Milan (2x daily) and from May Vienna-Stockholm (daily except Saturday) will be included in our network. Furthermore, it is our endeavour to increase the frequency of the existing routes.

Niki Lauda: “In addition to adding to our destinations, it is my objective to specifically gain business customers with even more attractive offers. To this end, however, the route frequently needs to be flown at least three times a day. During the second six months of the year, increased frequency to our business routes will be the main topic.”

NIKI extends its CITY SHUTTLE routes to the east, and flies to Moscow for the first time on 30 March 2007. A one-way flight from Vienna costs as little as € 49 – including all taxes, charges and on-board service.

NIKI extends its CITY SHUTTLE routes, and flies to Munich twice daily from 5 November 2007.

From 1 November, NIKI offers a new service for passengers who, due to a physical or mental disability, require assistance when flying. In addition to the normal luggage allowance and the free transportation of aids and wheelchairs, these passengers are entitled to 10 kg more luggage free of charge.
 

Thanks to the high capacity utilisation of the Vienna-Zurich route, a third flight is added to the busiest days in the 2006/2007 winter schedule.

Meals fit for a king. Since 30 May, Demel - purveyor to the court of the Dual Monarchy in Vienna – has been offering its delicacies on board.

From the end of October, NIKI flies twice daily from Vienna to the business metropolis of Frankfurt.

Despite the consistent number of aircraft – five – turnover and passenger numbers increase considerably compared to the previous year. The number of passengers carried has increased by around 30% compared to the previous year.
 

In January, NIKI is voted Airline of the Year in an airline test held by the “travelchannel.de” online travel agency. Niki leads the pack in the category “low-cost carrier” and amongst the charter airlines.

The City Shuttle and Mallorca Shuttle product lines are merged to become the Euro-Shuttle.

1 February: Paris is launched as the new Euro Shuttle destination.

The millionth passenger is welcomed on board on 13 April.

The new Airbus A 320 is here! On 11 October, Niki Lauda and his crew present the first of the new aircrafts from the major joint Airbus order placed with airberlin.

In April, two Airbus of the type A320 are added to the fleet. At the same time, cooperation with the German airline airberlin commences. The routes are then extended with the addition of the City Shuttle flights to Rom and Zürich.

In November, Niki Lauda takes over the Austrian subsidiary of the bankrupt German airline Aero Lloyd, and establishes NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH. The declared objective is, in addition to the charter business, to establish a new low-cost carrier.

On 28. November, NIKI officially starts flying in the form of flight HG 562 from Vienna to Tenerife. Two Airbus 320 and one Airbus 321 fly from Vienna and Salzburg to the Canary Islands, to Madeira and Egypt.