Austrian Airlines was found through the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways. With the passing time, the airline has managed to dominate the skies over Central and Eastern Europe. Austrian Airlines acquired Tyrolean Airways in March 1998 and took over Lauda Air, an airline based in Vienna that plied long haul flights, in 2000. Thus, the three airlines formed a group named as 'Austrian Airlines Group'. In the same year, Austrian Airlines became a member of the Star Alliance, the world's first and largest airline alliance. 
The airline was established on September 30, 1957, with its headquarters in Austria and main hub at Vienna International Airport, in Wien-Umgebung. Its first flight took off from Vienna on March 18, 1958, when the Vickers Viscount 779 flew to London, via Zurich. Austrian Airlines began its domestic services on May 1, 1963 and kick-started its transatlantic services on April 1, 1969, when it flew from Vienna to New York in co-operation with Sabena.
The airline covers a number of destinations across the globe. The African destinations covered by Austrian Airline Group are Egypt and Libya. The Group covers a number of cities in Central, East, South (including India), Southeast and Southwest Asia. Major cities in Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Switzerland are also covered by the Group of airlines. It also plies flights to important cities in Eastern, Western and Southern Europe as well as North America (Canada and United States) and Caribbean. Austrian Airlines has a fleet of aircrafts which include Airbus A319-114, Airbus A320-214, Airbus A321-111/211, Boeing 737-600, Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 767-300ER and Boeing 777-200ER.