Air Transport

MURDO MORRISON / VIENNA

Austrian Airlines Group has rebranded two of its divisions: Austrian Airlines becomes Austrian, while regional Tyrolean Airways is renamed Austrian Arrows. The new liveries will be rolled out across the fleets over two years, with the first Austrian Arrows-branded Bombardier Q400 taking to the skies last week, and an Austrian A330-200 due to follow in November.

Austrian Airlines chief executive Vagn Sorensen says the €1.5 million ($1.7 million) rebrand will allow the loss-making group to offer a "common identity", and Tyrolean to benefit from the better-known Austrian name. Within the two airlines, business and economy products will be "pushed further apart" to reflect the "polarisation" of the market into premium and no-frills segments, says Sorensen.

Austrian is focusing on Eastern Europe. It wants to increase passengers on Eastern European flights by half to almost 1.9 million by 2008, and set up a base at Bratislava airport in Slovakia - 50km (30 miles) from Austrian capital Vienna - to benefit from rising air travel after Slovakia joins the European Union next year and Bratislava's lower costs. But Sorensen rules out a separate no-frills brand based in the Slovakian capital.

He also dismisses suggestions that ailing Swiss might be a candidate for Star membership.