[2][3] Aero Lloyd was founded on September 6, 1979[4] and launched operations in March 1981 with three Sud Aviation Caravelles.

In 1986, the airline began to receive McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft used to add new destinations.

In 1988, Aero Lloyd launched scheduled services to London in the United Kingdom, Paris in France, and Zürich in Switzerland with the newly acquired aircraft.

However, by 1992, Aero Lloyd dropped scheduled operations after realising it was not a good move for the airline.

In 1998, the Bayerische Landesbank took over a majority stake of 66% with the intention of selling it on to a strategic buyer.