Niki Lauda RIP
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: blue earth
Posts: 217
Niki Lauda RIP
Airline founder, Formula One champion Niki Lauda dies at 70. Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda, three-times Formula One world champion and founder of several airlines, has passed away at the age of 70 on Monday, following a period of health issues, his family announced Tuesday morning.
https://www.ifn.news/posts/airline-f...da-dies-at-70/
https://www.ifn.news/posts/airline-f...da-dies-at-70/
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: U.K.
Posts: 635
R.I.P Niki too. Very much a hands on owner of Lauda Air. As a B767 DEC with him for a few years flew him as a passenger to Miami via Munich which was a regular trip. He spent most of flight at the front with us. On arrival at Miami the stand we always had allocated was the Lufthansa one which usually had been vacated by the B744 before we arrived but this time LH were having problems on stand for reasons I cannot remember but we had to wait 45 minutes or so with engines running and I could feel Niki bristling with anger thinking of all that money of his being wasted .
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Vienna
Posts: 140
Lauda asked for a press conference the following day, and told Boeing that if it was possible to recover, he would be willing to fly on a 767 with two pilots and have the thrust reverser deploy in air. Boeing told Lauda that it was not possible, so he asked Boeing to issue a statement saying that it would not be survivable, and Boeing issued it. Lauda then added, "this was the first time in eight months that it had been made clear that the manufacturer [Boeing] was at fault and not the operator of the aeroplane [or Pratt and Whitney]."
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 5,877
Originally Posted by capricorn23
R.I.P Niki... I will never forget the years spent on Lauda Air.
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Stratosphere
Posts: 41
Originally Posted by Airbubba
Don't know if he was progressive but he sure didn't hire his flight attendants over the phone. 
RIP Niki Lauda
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Europe
Age: 42
Posts: 606
One of the bravest, and boldest, persons in racing. He earned his respect through hard work, determination and a talent that encompassed both the driving and technical side of racing. His later accomplishments as a businessman are marked by the same determination and bravery; making money out of setting up no less than 3 airlines is no small feat.
He was a pilot for more than 40 years, and was just about to take delivery of a brand new Global 7500, which he'd pilot himself. He also flew his passengers around himself from time to time, both out of a love of flying but also, as the hard nosed businessman he was, to get out on the sharp end of the operation and see what's really what. He famously told stories about his time flying a Fokker 50 in the beginning of his airline days, making an enroute PA inviting interested passengers to come forward and say hello. 50 people simultaneously rose up and headed towards the cockpit, resulting in a rather pronounced CG shift. After that, they found a system where only a few got up at a time.
But most of all he was a racer all his life, having used his immense talent, grit, courage and full focus to win 3 DWC's at a time, when a season of racing usually ended up with one or more driver fatalities. And not only did he survive telling Enzo Ferrari his car was shit, but also proved it to the old man by fixing the front end and going 0.8 second faster around Fiorano.
Long may the memory of this great man be with us.
He was a pilot for more than 40 years, and was just about to take delivery of a brand new Global 7500, which he'd pilot himself. He also flew his passengers around himself from time to time, both out of a love of flying but also, as the hard nosed businessman he was, to get out on the sharp end of the operation and see what's really what. He famously told stories about his time flying a Fokker 50 in the beginning of his airline days, making an enroute PA inviting interested passengers to come forward and say hello. 50 people simultaneously rose up and headed towards the cockpit, resulting in a rather pronounced CG shift. After that, they found a system where only a few got up at a time.
But most of all he was a racer all his life, having used his immense talent, grit, courage and full focus to win 3 DWC's at a time, when a season of racing usually ended up with one or more driver fatalities. And not only did he survive telling Enzo Ferrari his car was shit, but also proved it to the old man by fixing the front end and going 0.8 second faster around Fiorano.
Long may the memory of this great man be with us.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Europe
Posts: 280
Was in Lauda Air, only company I worked for with him as boss(thanks god). However, had him a few times on the flight deck(especially on that Hamburg flights to check on Lufthansa Maintenance), from pilot to pilot a very nice chap to talk with Usually sat with us all the way on his jumpseat. Loved when we did "sporty" approaches(tell me which airlines does approve such a thing nowadays, back then HE WAS on the flightdeck and loved it), we did as well. Not pleasant as a boss however, two very different things. I guess I really liked the racedriver and pilot in him, not the businessman(however, he bought the best available equipment possible at that time(e.g. FULL option CRJ's with double FMS/IRS which was far away from airline standard at that time) because he knew what a pilot needs to get the job done properly. If I think to my current outfit with their messed up, minimum(make that actually a "no option") 737's from the fantastic green island, one want's to cry.
Let's say it was nice to have a chat with this colourful person from time to time, did NOT enjoy being one of his employees. However, Kudos what he accomplished within a corrupted(up till now) Austrian political system(tell me one that is actually not corrupted), especially bringing up Lauda Air against the will of, at that time, powerful(because state owned) Austrian Airlines. Loved how we kicked their a** and would join him in this battle anytime again. And how he forced that Austrian Airlines management to buy overpriced Lauda Air(was out at that time already, not my fight anymore) which eventually broke their back and they got bought up by Lufthansa. Well deserved.
R.I.P. Niki Lauda. It was fun walking a bit of your path with you, even it was a financial loss for me(and many other of my fellow pilots).
Let's say it was nice to have a chat with this colourful person from time to time, did NOT enjoy being one of his employees. However, Kudos what he accomplished within a corrupted(up till now) Austrian political system(tell me one that is actually not corrupted), especially bringing up Lauda Air against the will of, at that time, powerful(because state owned) Austrian Airlines. Loved how we kicked their a** and would join him in this battle anytime again. And how he forced that Austrian Airlines management to buy overpriced Lauda Air(was out at that time already, not my fight anymore) which eventually broke their back and they got bought up by Lufthansa. Well deserved.
R.I.P. Niki Lauda. It was fun walking a bit of your path with you, even it was a financial loss for me(and many other of my fellow pilots).
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: CEH2 (Black Diamond, Alberta)
Posts: 5,558
I am posting the following FB post by a friend of mine, with his permission:
Note: “jai dee” literally means “good heart” and in this context means “good guy”.
My friend told me that racing was never mentioned during their chats, but they did have a discussion about a girl they both knew - one of James Hunt’s ex-girlfriends. My friend Peter has gone way up in my estimation!
Note: “jai dee” literally means “good heart” and in this context means “good guy”.
My friend told me that racing was never mentioned during their chats, but they did have a discussion about a girl they both knew - one of James Hunt’s ex-girlfriends. My friend Peter has gone way up in my estimation!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: toronto
Posts: 427
OE-IIL Global 7500 was already delivered and was crew training just last week in a flight from Vienna to Brno Austria - first customer flight of a Global 7600 - sadly Niki last saw the plane in Montreal uncompleted 
