Braathens Helikopter A/S was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 based at Stavanger Airport, Sola

Stavanger Airport, Sola

Stavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third-busiest airport, with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...

, and Bergen Airport, Flesland

Bergen Airport, Flesland

Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...

. It used a fleet of seven Aérospatiale Super Pumas to serve offshore oil platforms in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. The customers were Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch....

, Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro

Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...

, Statoil

Statoil

Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...

, Amoco

Amoco

Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....

 and British Petroleum, serving their oil fields Ekofisk

Ekofisk oil field

Ekofisk is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about southwest of Stavanger. Discovered in 1969, it remains one of the most important oil fields in the North Sea. Production began in 1971 after the construction of a series of off-shore platforms by Phillips Petroleum Company...

, Oseberg

Oseberg oil field

Oseberg is an offshore oil field with a gas cap in the North Sea located northwest of the city of Bergen on the southwestern coast of Norway....

, Gullfaks

Gullfaks oil field

Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Statoil. It was discovered in 1979, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 135 meters. The initial recoverable reserve is , and the remaining recoverable reserve in 2004 is . This oil field reached peak production in...

, Veslefrikk, Valhall

Valhall oil field

Valhall is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Discovered in 1975, production began in 1982 and is expected to continue until 2050. Valhall is located in 70 metres of water.- Development :...

, Ula

Ula oil field

Ula is an offshore oil field located in the southern Norwegian section of North Sea along with Gyda, Tambar and Tambar East fields making up the UGT area, usually attributed to DONG Energy's main areas of exploration and production activity. The Ula field was discovered in 1976 and came online in...

 and Gyda

Gyda Oil Field

Gyda is an offshore oil field located in the southern Norwegian section of North Sea along with Ula, Tambar and Tambar East fields making up the UGT area, usually attributed to DONG Energy's main areas of exploration and production activity. The Gyda field was discovered in 1980 and started...

. Braathens Helikopter operated from 1989 to 1993, after which it was sold to and merged with the main competitor, Helikopter Service. Braathens Helikopter was owned by Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi and was a sister company of the airline Braathens SAFE

Braathens

Braathens ASA, until 1997 Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S and trading as Braathens SAFE, is a former Norwegian airline that operated from 1946 until it merged with Scandinavian Airlines Norway to become SAS Braathens in 2004. The airline was based in Oslo, first at Fornebu,...

.

Operations

Braathens Helikopter was a pure helicopter airline, with a main base at Stavanger Airport, Sola and a secondary base at Bergen Airport, Flesland. It operated seven Aérospatiale Super Puma helicopters, each with nineteen seats. They were used exclusively on long-term contracts with oil companies to ship crews to their oil platforms in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The company employed at the most 120 people, was owned by Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi, and was a sister company of Braathens SAFE. The airline served seven oil fields: Ekofisk, Gullfaks, Gyda, Oseberg, Ula, Valhall, Veslefrikk. These were on contract with Amoco, British Petroleum, Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum and Statoil. The company had a 30% market share before it was sold.

History

Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi's first attempt at entering the helicopter market was in 1982, when it applied for a concession

Concession (contract)

A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...

 from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications

Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa...

 to operate offshore helicopters, which it was awarded in 1983. As a protest, the incumbent Helikopter Service applied for the airline routes that Braathens SAFE operated from Stavanger, but this application was rejected.

The airline was not founded until 1 September 1989, after Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi, the owner of Braathens SAFE, made an agreement with the oil companies Phillips Petroleum, Norsk Hydro and Statoil. The agreement involved flights to the platforms Ekofisk, Oseberg, Gullfaks og Veslefrikk. Prior to this, Helikopter Service had held a monopoly on flights for the oil companies to their offshore installations. The oil companies wanted to establish a competitor to Helikopter Service to press down prices. The initial agreement gave a revenue of and gave the new company a 20% market share. Four 19-seat Aérospatiale Super Puma helicopters were ordered, each costing NOK 60 million. Total investment costs were NOK 300 million. Two helicopters were stationed at Stavanger Airport, Sola, and two at Bergen Airport, Flesland.

Bjarne Sortland was appointed managing director. The first helicopter was delivered in May, with a new helicopter being delivered each month. They were named Havsulen, Havhesten, Havørn and Havsvale. Owner Bjørn G. Braathen stated that his goal was that the airline would reach a 50% market share. In 1990, another challenger, Mørefly, had also established themselves in the market. For the start of operations, Braathens Helikopter hired 22 pilots, most of them previously working for the Royal Norwegian Air Force

Royal Norwegian Air Force

The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...

. The company had 70 employees in total. Services started on 1 September 1990, where the initial contract involved flying 10,000 passengers per year.

In January 1991, the company placed an order and an option for the Super Puma. In June, Braathens Helikopter signed a three-year agreement, with an option for a two-year extension, with Amoco

Amoco

Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....

 for flights from Stavanger to Valhall. The revenue was between NOK 100 and 200 million, depending on the length of the contract and the capacity needed. Operations started in February 1992, and involved the company purchasing the Super Puma they had an option for. On 10 September, Braathens Helikopter was awarded the contract with British Petroleum for flights from Stavanger to Ula and Gyda. The contract gave a revenue of up to NOK 300 million in the course five years. Operations started on 1 November 1992, and involved about 2,000 hours of flying per year. With this contract, Braathens Helikopter had about a 30% market share. As a consequence of the contract, Braathens purchased another Super Puma. After operations started, the company had grown to 120 employees and was the second-largest helicopter operator in the country. The company made a profit of NOK 14 million in 1991, NOK 11 million in 1992 and NOK 23 million in the seven first months of 1993.

In 1993, Norway decided to allow any airline from the European Economic Area

European Economic Area

The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...

 to operate helicopter services in Norway from 1995. This meant that companies like Bristow Group, KLM and Maersk Air

Maersk Air

Maersk Air was a Danish low-fare airline, based in Dragør, Dragør Municipality; Maersk was part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. It operated from 1969 to 2005, when it was bought by Icelandic investment group Fons Eignarhaldsfélag and subsequently merged with their other Danish acquisition the same...

 could start operation in Norway. This would be coordinated through common technical rules for helicopters through the Joint Aviation Authorities

Joint Aviation Authorities

The Joint Aviation Authorities, or JAA, was an associated body of the ECAC representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States who had agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures...

. Braathens Helikopter and Helikopter Service announced on 1 October 1993 that the two companies would merge from 1 January 1994. Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi would be paid NOK 225 million in Helikopter Service shares. The Norwegian Competition Authority

Norwegian Competition Authority

Norwegian Competition Authority is Norwegian Government agency responsible for managing the Competition Act of 2004, including regulations imposed through the European Economic Community. This includes regulating cooperation that hinders competition, misuse of a dominant market position and...

 stated they would have to look at the merger, since the new company would have a near-monopoly on offshore flights. However, the Ministry of Transport and Communications stated that the authority could not hinder the merger, because by the time new contracts were awarded in 1995, helicopter operators from foreign countries would also be allowed to bid. The ownership of Braathens Helikopter was transferred to Helikopter Service on 14 December. Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi received 14% of the shares in the merged company. They were immediately sold, giving Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi a NOK 170 million profit on the five-year venture. Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi needed the capital to participate in a initial public offering

Initial public offering

An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

 of Braathens. Most of the management of Braathens Helikopter was hired at the newly established competitor United Helicopter, a joint venture between Bristow Helicopters, Leif Höegh & Co

Leif Höegh & Co

Leif Höegh & Co is an international shipping company, founded in 1927 by Norwegian Leif Høegh . Since 2006 the company has been structured as two separate entities, Höegh Autoliners and Höegh LNG, with Leif Höegh & Co acting as a common holding company.-See also: -External links:***...

 and Andreas Ugland & Sønn.

Destinations

The following is a list of Braathens Helikoper's destinations. It includes the name of the location or platform, the aerodrome's ICAO and IATA codes and name.

List of Braathens Helikoper destinations

Location	ICAO	IATA	Airport	Ref
Bergen Bergen Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....	BGO	ENBR	Bergen Airport, Flesland Bergen Airport, Flesland Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...
Ekofisk Ekofisk oil field Ekofisk is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about southwest of Stavanger. Discovered in 1969, it remains one of the most important oil fields in the North Sea. Production began in 1971 after the construction of a series of off-shore platforms by Phillips Petroleum Company...	—	ENFA	Ekofisk A
	—	ENXE	Ekofisk D
	—	ENXL	Ekofisk K
Gullfaks Gullfaks oil field Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Statoil. It was discovered in 1979, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 135 meters. The initial recoverable reserve is , and the remaining recoverable reserve in 2004 is . This oil field reached peak production in...	—	ENGC	Gullfaks A
	—	ENQH	Gullfaks B
	—	ENGN	Gullfaks C
Gyda Gyda Oil Field Gyda is an offshore oil field located in the southern Norwegian section of North Sea along with Ula, Tambar and Tambar East fields making up the UGT area, usually attributed to DONG Energy's main areas of exploration and production activity. The Gyda field was discovered in 1980 and started...	—	ENXH	Gyda
Oseberg Oseberg oil field Oseberg is an offshore oil field with a gas cap in the North Sea located northwest of the city of Bergen on the southwestern coast of Norway....	—	ENOC	Oseberg A
	—	ENOP	Oseberg C
	—	ENQF	Oseberg Øst
	—	ENQR	Oseberg Sør
Stavanger Stavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...	SVG	ENZV	Stavanger Airport, Sola Stavanger Airport, Sola Stavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third-busiest airport, with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...
Ula Ula oil field Ula is an offshore oil field located in the southern Norwegian section of North Sea along with Gyda, Tambar and Tambar East fields making up the UGT area, usually attributed to DONG Energy's main areas of exploration and production activity. The Ula field was discovered in 1976 and came online in...	—	ENNE	Ula
Veslefrik	—	ENQG	Veslefrikk A
	—	ENVH	Veslefrikk B
Valhall Valhall oil field Valhall is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Discovered in 1975, production began in 1982 and is expected to continue until 2050. Valhall is located in 70 metres of water.- Development :...	—	ENXA	Valhall A