Airline entrepreneur and three-times Formula One champion Niki Lauda has died, aged 70.
Lauda had a lung transplant last August and was hospitalised in January for about 10 days while suffering from influenza. He died yesterday.
"His unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur are and will remain unforgettable," said a statement from his family.
"His tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain a role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed."
Lauda founded Lauda Air in 1979 and sold it to Austrian Airlines 30 years later.
The Austrian sometimes surprised passengers by flying the planes himself.
In 2003 he founded his second airline, Niki, which merged with Air Berlin but was eventually bought back by Lauda, rebranded as Laudamotion and sold to Ryanair in April 2018.
Brighter PR represented Lauda Air in the 1990s and the company’s vice president Jane Richards said: "Lauda Air was a dream client to promote, really ahead of its time and innovative, and that was because of Niki Lauda.
"The in-flight product was different to any other airlines of the time, great food with chefs onboard, flight attendants wearing levi jeans (before Virgin did it), and red baseball halls like Niki wore – with condoms in the amenity packs!
"The airline was one of the first customers of the Boeing 777 and Niki Lauda decided to have a gambling game installed on the in-flight entertainment system. We took an international press pack over to the US to collect the aircraft, then as a qualified commercial pilot Niki Lauda personally flew the plane from Boeing Fields to Las Vegas, for a huge party at Caesar’s Palace to promote the inflight gambling!
"There was always a good story to tell and the media loved the airline and Niki Lauda."
As a racing car driver, Lauda won two world championships in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and a third in 1984 with McLaren.
In August 1976, a year after winning his first title, he was severely injured in a crash at the German Grand Prix.
He was given the last rites in hospital but made an almost miraculous recovery and returned to racing just 40 days later.
As a non-executive chairman for the Formula 1 Mercedes team he was instrumental in bringing in British driver Lewis Hamilton, who has won five world championships.
