Ryanair has agreed an option with Niki Lauda that could see it take full ownership of the Laudamotion leisure airline in four years, the company said Wednesday. The carrier is waiting for European regulatory approval to take a 75% stake in the re-branded former Niki airline, the remains of which the former Formula One star bought out of insolvency earlier this year. Ryanair agreed in March to take a 24.9% stake in the Austrian carrier and said it planned to raise that to 75% as soon as possible. Lauda and Ryanair also agreed an option that allows the Irish carrier to buy the rest of Laudamotion as well, a Ryanair spokeswoman said. CE Michael O'Leary said he would have to pay a "weirdly high price" if he decided to do so. <br/>
unaligned
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency has suspended the AOC for Saratov Airlines, effective May 31, because of a violation of flight safety rules. Saratov Airlines confirmed it has stopped all flights and announced it will issue refunds. According to the agency, Saratov’s flight time plans were in violation of fatigue control regulations. In addition, the agency said the crews deliberately failed to comply with flight time limitations and, further, that airline management did not monitor the situation. Authorities denounced the company to be unreliable in the way it monitors and accounts for crew flight time. The agency is in negotiations with other airlines—including Aeroflot Airline, Utair Aviation, S7 Airlines, Red Wings Airlines, Ural Airlines—to carry Saratov passengers through June 13. <br/>