Niki orders two additional Embraer 190

Austrian low-cost airline Niki has converted an additional two of his options for Embraer 190 regional jets into firm orders, with delivery planned for spring 2011.

Niki presently operates two ERJ-190, with another two to be delivered in  May 2010. The Embraer jets are used on low-density routes from Vienna to such destinations as Innsbruck, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow, Munich, Paris CDG or Rome, sometimes replacing an Airbus if the demand is lower than normal.

In addition Niki announced the introduction of services from Vienna to three additional destinations starting from March 26, 2010. Daily flights will be offered to Barcelona and Nice, six weekly flights (daily except on Saturday) to Copenhagen.

Niki's fleet for 2010 will comprise 17 aircraft:

2 A321-200
9 A320-200
2 A319-200
4 E190-100LR

The schedule for 2010 constitutes an increase of more than thirty percent over the figures of the current year. Niki intends to take advantage of the demise of Vienna based low-cost carrier SkyEurope in September 2009 and the restructuring at Austrian Airlines, following the take-over by Lufthansa in September 2009.

In addition to the expansion of scheduled flights Niki will also increase th number of charter flights conducted for tour operators, as Austrian Airlines increasingly is pulling out of this segment.

Niki's network of scheduled flights for the year 2010 will include the following destinations, served from Vienna:

Barcelona, Belgrade, Bucharest, Cagliari, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Innsbruck, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Olbia, Paris, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Sofia, Stockholm and Zurich.

In an interview Niki Lauda has defined one of his targets for the year 2010: Together with his partner, Air Berlin, he intends to achieve a market share of 30 percent at Vienna International Airport.