Norsk Air
Encyclopedia
Widerøe Norsk Air AS, formerly known as Vestfoldfly, Norsk Flytjeneste AS and Norsk Air AS, was a Norwegian
airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. The airline flew scheduled flights to Bergen
, Trondheim
, Stavanger
and Copenhagen
, as well as other places for shorter times.
The company was founded in Øyvind Skaunfelt as a flying school and also did some other commercial activities. In the early 1970s the airline bought three Douglas DC-6
s and started international charter. It transformed into a scheduled airline in 1982, using Beechcraft 200 King Air
s. It was in 1985 bought by Kosmos and renamed Norsk Air and bought four Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
s. In 1989, the airline was bought by Widerøe
and changed its name to Widerøe Norsk Air. It merged into Widerøe in 1996.
, and Solberg offered Skaunfelt to purchase his school and airplanes when he retired. Two years earlier, Sandefjord Airport, Torp had opened a civilian sector and Skaunfelt decided to establish his company there. In May, he received government permission for commercial flying. He started a newspaper route to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
, and could also take three passengers on it using a single-engined Cessna
. It continued onwards from Sandefjord to Tønsberg, Larvik and at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
using a Cessna 172B
. Vestfoldfly also started offering scenic trips and charter. During the summer, Vestfoldfly also flew seaplanes south along the coast to Kragerø
, Risør
and Arendal
, using a Piper PA-22
. Other activities involved crop dusting of forest for Felleskjøpet
. Norsk Flytjeneste also provided a target service for the military. Four aircraft were permanently used to tow a target
about 1000 to 2000 m (3,280.8 to 6,561.7 ) behind the aircraft, and military personnel would practice shooting at the target.
By 1967 the airline was providing a boarding school
offering an eight month course with 250 flight hours leading to a B certificate. This certificate allows a pilot to fly commercial flights with aircraft up to 5 700 kg. In 1967 the school also started at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
. In addition the airline acquired two new Cessna 188A aircraft for aerial application, especially forestry work in Norway. In 1972 these two aircraft were sold in England.
During the 1960s, Vestfoldfly never received a concession
for a regular, scheduled flight from Sandefjord to Oslo. The reason was that the Skien-based Fjellfly
held the concession for the routes from Oslo to Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Skien. The airline never used its landing rights at Sandefjord, but nevertheless still hindered Vestfoldfly from starting a competing route. Skaunfelt eventually split his activity in two, demerging the aviation school and renaming it Den Norske Luftfartsskole, that continued to operate until 1999. The other activity was renamed Norsk Flytjeneste. In 1969, Norsk Flytjeneste and Jotun
, a large local industrial company, established Penguin Air Service, where Norsk Flytjeneste owned 25% of the shares. The company bought a Piper PA-31 Navajo
and started charter services for Jotun. In 1975, Bugge Supplyship also joined the joint venture and a second aircraft was bought. The main transport was to the oil industry in Stavanger
.
s from Braathens SAFE
and leased on from Sterling Airways. They were used for domestic and international charter. The largest contract was from the Norwegian Church Aid
, that contracted Norsk Flytjeneste to fly aid to Bangladesh
. After a year, the three DC-6s were sold, due to the airline not making money on them, primarily due to high operating costs. The company followed up with purchasing a ten-seat Cessna Citation
business jet that they offered in the charter market. But the market was not large enough, and the jet was sold.
The main market for the charter services was Stavanger Airport, Sola
, mainly due to the oil industry needing to send personnel there. By the 1980s, Norsk Air had up to four daily round trips between the two cities. In 1983, the airline received concession to start a regular scheduled service to Stavanger. A ten-seat Beechcraft Super King Air was bought and services started in 12 January 1984. Services to Bergen Airport, Flesland
started on 10 July. Soon there were four daily round trips to both cities, supplemented by charter trips operated by Penguin. Starting on 26 March 1984, Norsk Flytjeneste received competition on the routes from Sandefjord to Bergen and Stavanger, when Busy Bee
, on contract with Braathens SAFE, started flights using Fokker F27
s. However, they operated only one round trip, with the same aircraft serving Sandefjord–Stavanger–Haugesund
–Bergen.
In 1984, Norsk Flytjenesete started negotiations with Sandefjord-based conglomerate Kosmos, who wanted to invest in a local airline. Kosmos had decided to start a diversification strategy to spread their risk into new areas. Norsk Flytjeneste was at the time not making money on its routes, but Kosmos was willing to take the loss as an investment. On 15 April 1985, the company was sold to Kosmos. At the time of the take-over, Norsk Flytjeneste had four Cessna 310
s and one Piper Navajo. The airline's Beechcraft 200 and C90
King Airs were already owned by Kosmos. The company was changed from a sole propriatoriship
to a limited company
and named Norsk FLytjeneste. Kjell Riege from Kosmos was appointed managing director. Tor Lundstrøm continued as chief pilot.
in Denmark. The concessions had a limitation on not using aircraft with more than ten seats. In 1985, this limitation was lifted. Under Kosmos' management, Norsk Flytjeneste started an aggressive expansion. Applications for concessions from Sandefjord to Gothenburg
in Sweden, as well as from Oslo via Hamar
and Røros
to Trondheim
were made. The company also joined the joint venture Commuterservice along with other Norwegian regional airlines. The company also needed larger aircraft, and the airline evaluated several types, including the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, the Saab 340
and the Fokker F27. The company chose to order four Brasilias. During the negotiations with Embraer the company realized that 'Norsk Flytjeneste' was a difficult name for foreigners, since the Brazilians could not pronounce 'Flytjeneste'. When the new aircraft were delivered, the airline was rebranded Norsk Air.
Norsk Air was the second airline in Europe to oder the Brasilia, after Air Excel. Three were financed with debt from Banco de Brasil, with one being leased. With the introduction of the Brasilias, the airline also started a route from Sandefjord to Trondheim Airport, Værnes
in 1986. From 1985 to 1986, the airline's costs doubled, but not the income. In 1987, Terje Røsjode, former bank chief for Christiania Bank
in Sandefjord, took over as managing director. The Brasilias had state-of-art technology, and although airlines purchase new aircraft to reduce their maintenance costs, this was not possible for Norsk Air because they did not have sufficient competence to maintain the aircraft. In particular, they lacked sufficient electronic expertise, due to the increase of electronic components in the aircraft. All the other aircraft were sold.
In 1986, the company established a duty free at Torp. By 1987, Norsk Air was losing NOK 20 million per year. The company established a route from Sandefjord to Gothenburg and to London Stansted Airport
. Neither were profitable, and were quickly terminated. To develop the company, Kosmos and Norsk Air bought the Kirkenes
-based airline Norving
, that also operated flights from Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, about an hours drive from Sandefjord, to Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger. Norving had seven types of aircraft, but was losing large sums of money, although the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
covered their losses on some state-subsidized regional routes. The purchase of Norving caused a conflict with the locals who did not like the company being bought. The operations from Skien were merged into Norsk Air, while the rest of Norving was sold. It went bankrupt in 1993. Norsk Air wanted to also purchase Widerøe
, but none fo the large owners wanted to sell.
in Kosmos were fired. The Skaugen Group bought the company, and decided to integrated the shipping and oil-related activities into their group. All other investments, including Norsk Air, were to be sold or closed. At the time, Norsk Air had 140 employees. Røsjodet took contact with Bård Mikkelsen, who was CEO of Widerøe, to try to convince them to purchase Norsk Air. Widerøe was a that time solely occupied with flying on the subsidized regional routes. The company wanted to have some non-subsidized routes to better benchmark
its operations. The two largest owners, Scandinavian Airlines System
(SAS) and Braathens SAFE did not want to purchase Norsk Air, but the third-largest owner, Fred. Olsen & Co.
liked the idea, and bought SAS' and Braathens SAFE's 62.3% stake in Widerøe to make the deal possible. Other possible purchasers were Sterling Airlines
, Partnair
and Jan Einar Johansen, former owner of Scandi Line.
By 1989, the airline had 156 employees and 150,000 annual passengers. On 9 February 1989, the board decided to start the termination process if a sale was not made. The employees agreed to cut their wages 10% and not take sick days during the sales process. One of the main difficulties in the sales process was that Widerøe could not afford to purchase Norsk Air's hangar
at the airport. Widerøe wanted to continue operations at both Torp and Geiteryggen for a year to see where to establish its base. In fear that the airline would move to Skien, the municipalities of Sandefjord and Stokke
, who owned the majority of the airport, agreed to purchase the hangar, that had been built for NOK 20 million in 1987, for NOK 11.5 million. Half the hangar would be rented to Widerøe for NOK 500,000 per year. This was insufficient to cover the NOK 1.2 million in annual interest costs.
Widerøe took over Norsk Air on 1 May 1989 free of charge, and changed the company's name to Widerøe Norsk Air. The company was kept as a subsidiary to avoid cross-subsidization of the subsidized routes. Widerøe started negotiations with Busy Bee, and agreed to lease the Fokker 50 used by Busy Bee to Sandefjord, in exchange for Busy Bee terminating the route in 1990. Widerøe Norsk Air also decided that it was not profitable to fly from both Skien and Sandefjord, and terminated all Skien services. Starting on 28 October 1991, the airline also started a route from Sandefjord via Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik
to London. This route was terminated one year later. In 1993, Widerøe sold its Fokker 50 to Norwegian Air Shuttle
. On 1 May 1996, Widerøe Norsk Air was merged with Widerøe.
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...
airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. The airline flew scheduled flights to 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 , ....
, Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, 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...
and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, as well as other places for shorter times.
The company was founded in Øyvind Skaunfelt as a flying school and also did some other commercial activities. In the early 1970s the airline bought three Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
s and started international charter. It transformed into a scheduled airline in 1982, using Beechcraft 200 King Air
Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
s. It was in 1985 bought by Kosmos and renamed Norsk Air and bought four Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
s. In 1989, the airline was bought by Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
and changed its name to Widerøe Norsk Air. It merged into Widerøe in 1996.
Vestfoldfly
Vestfoldfly was established in 1961 by Øyvind Skaunfelt. He had been working at Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, JarlsbergTønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg , sometimes called Jarlsberg Airport is located in Tønsberg, Norway.Jarlsberg airport was founded in 1937, and has since then been used for private, commercial and military operations...
, and Solberg offered Skaunfelt to purchase his school and airplanes when he retired. Two years earlier, Sandefjord Airport, Torp had opened a civilian sector and Skaunfelt decided to establish his company there. In May, he received government permission for commercial flying. He started a newspaper route to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
, and could also take three passengers on it using a single-engined Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
. It continued onwards from Sandefjord to Tønsberg, Larvik and at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen is an airport located 2.5 km southwest of the city centre of Skien, Norway. Skien Lufthavn AS operates the airport and this company is owned by the local municipality of Skien in the Grenland region. Services are provided by Danish Air Transport to Bergen and Stavanger...
using a Cessna 172B
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
. Vestfoldfly also started offering scenic trips and charter. During the summer, Vestfoldfly also flew seaplanes south along the coast to Kragerø
Kragerø
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø....
, Risør
Risør
is a city and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The city belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet. It is a popular tourist place. The surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills, and is known for its beautiful coastline as well....
and Arendal
Arendal
is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. Arendal belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet.The town of Arendal is the administrative center the municipality and also of Aust-Agder county...
, using a Piper PA-22
Piper PA-20 Pacer
The PA-20 Pacer and PA-22 Tri-Pacer are a family of four-place, strut braced, high-wing light aircraft that were built by Piper Aircraft in the post-World War II period....
. Other activities involved crop dusting of forest for Felleskjøpet
Felleskjøpet
Felleskjøpet or FK is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that serves as a retailer of agricultural operating equipment including animal food and seeds. It is also a wholesaler of grains...
. Norsk Flytjeneste also provided a target service for the military. Four aircraft were permanently used to tow a target
Target tug
A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent combat types...
about 1000 to 2000 m (3,280.8 to 6,561.7 ) behind the aircraft, and military personnel would practice shooting at the target.
By 1967 the airline was providing a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
offering an eight month course with 250 flight hours leading to a B certificate. This certificate allows a pilot to fly commercial flights with aircraft up to 5 700 kg. In 1967 the school also started at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg , sometimes called Jarlsberg Airport is located in Tønsberg, Norway.Jarlsberg airport was founded in 1937, and has since then been used for private, commercial and military operations...
. In addition the airline acquired two new Cessna 188A aircraft for aerial application, especially forestry work in Norway. In 1972 these two aircraft were sold in England.
During the 1960s, Vestfoldfly never received 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...
for a regular, scheduled flight from Sandefjord to Oslo. The reason was that the Skien-based Fjellfly
Fjellfly
Fjellfly was a Norwegian airline founded by Snorre Sturla Kjetilson in 1954.Fjellfly's main hub was Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. At the most the company operated 14 aircraft of various sizes for passenger, goods and charter flights . Kjetilson was also known for his "pets" as the airport site housed...
held the concession for the routes from Oslo to Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Skien. The airline never used its landing rights at Sandefjord, but nevertheless still hindered Vestfoldfly from starting a competing route. Skaunfelt eventually split his activity in two, demerging the aviation school and renaming it Den Norske Luftfartsskole, that continued to operate until 1999. The other activity was renamed Norsk Flytjeneste. In 1969, Norsk Flytjeneste and Jotun
Jotun (company)
Jotun A/S is one of the world's leading producers of paints, coatings and powder coatings. The group has 70 companies and 38 production facilities on all continents. In addition, Jotun has agents, branch offices and distributors in more than 80 countries...
, a large local industrial company, established Penguin Air Service, where Norsk Flytjeneste owned 25% of the shares. The company bought a Piper PA-31 Navajo
Piper PA-31 Navajo
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
and started charter services for Jotun. In 1975, Bugge Supplyship also joined the joint venture and a second aircraft was bought. The main transport was to the oil industry in 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...
.
Norsk Flytjeneste
In 1972, Norsk Flytjeneste purchased two Douglas DC-6BDouglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
s from 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,...
and leased on from Sterling Airways. They were used for domestic and international charter. The largest contract was from the Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Church Aid , "Kirkens Nødhjelp" in Norwegian, is an independent humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo, Norway. The organisation also has offices in 65 countries worldwide and receives funding from the Norwegian Protestant church, their institutions and...
, that contracted Norsk Flytjeneste to fly aid to Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. After a year, the three DC-6s were sold, due to the airline not making money on them, primarily due to high operating costs. The company followed up with purchasing a ten-seat Cessna Citation
Cessna Citation
The Cessna Citation is a marketing name used by Cessna for its line of business jets. Rather than one particular model of aircraft, the name applies to several "families" of turbofan-powered aircraft that have been produced over the years...
business jet that they offered in the charter market. But the market was not large enough, and the jet was sold.
The main market for the charter services was 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...
, mainly due to the oil industry needing to send personnel there. By the 1980s, Norsk Air had up to four daily round trips between the two cities. In 1983, the airline received concession to start a regular scheduled service to Stavanger. A ten-seat Beechcraft Super King Air was bought and services started in 12 January 1984. Services to 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...
started on 10 July. Soon there were four daily round trips to both cities, supplemented by charter trips operated by Penguin. Starting on 26 March 1984, Norsk Flytjeneste received competition on the routes from Sandefjord to Bergen and Stavanger, when Busy Bee
Busy Bee
Busy Bee of Norway, branded simply Busy Bee was an airline that operated in Norway between 1966 and 1992. The airline was started by Braathens S.A.F.E under the name Busy Bee Air Service. The airline flew charter and wet lease for Braathens SAFE and Scandinavian Airlines with Fokker F-27, Fokker 50...
, on contract with Braathens SAFE, started flights using Fokker F27
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
s. However, they operated only one round trip, with the same aircraft serving Sandefjord–Stavanger–Haugesund
Haugesund
is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.-Location:Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town and municipality of its own in 1855. The rural municipality of Skåre was merged with Haugesund on January 1, 1958. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km²...
–Bergen.
In 1984, Norsk Flytjenesete started negotiations with Sandefjord-based conglomerate Kosmos, who wanted to invest in a local airline. Kosmos had decided to start a diversification strategy to spread their risk into new areas. Norsk Flytjeneste was at the time not making money on its routes, but Kosmos was willing to take the loss as an investment. On 15 April 1985, the company was sold to Kosmos. At the time of the take-over, Norsk Flytjeneste had four Cessna 310
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...
s and one Piper Navajo. The airline's Beechcraft 200 and C90
Beechcraft King Air
The Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...
King Airs were already owned by Kosmos. The company was changed from a sole propriatoriship
Enkeltpersonforetak
Enkeltpersonforetak is the Norwegian type of sole proprietorship. The company is considered part of the personal assets of the owner, who holds the full juridical and economic liability of the company...
to a limited company
Aksjeselskap
Aksjeselskap is the Norwegian term for a stock-based company. It is usually abbreviated AS or A/S, especially when used in company names. An AS is always a limited company, i.e. the owners cannot be held liable for any debt beyond the stock capital...
and named Norsk FLytjeneste. Kjell Riege from Kosmos was appointed managing director. Tor Lundstrøm continued as chief pilot.
Norsk Air
On 30 July 1985, Norsk Flytjeneste opened their first international route, to Copenhagen AirportCopenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
in Denmark. The concessions had a limitation on not using aircraft with more than ten seats. In 1985, this limitation was lifted. Under Kosmos' management, Norsk Flytjeneste started an aggressive expansion. Applications for concessions from Sandefjord to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
in Sweden, as well as from Oslo via Hamar
Hamar
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...
and Røros
Røros
is a town and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Other villages include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen....
to Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
were made. The company also joined the joint venture Commuterservice along with other Norwegian regional airlines. The company also needed larger aircraft, and the airline evaluated several types, including the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, the Saab 340
Saab 340
The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...
and the Fokker F27. The company chose to order four Brasilias. During the negotiations with Embraer the company realized that 'Norsk Flytjeneste' was a difficult name for foreigners, since the Brazilians could not pronounce 'Flytjeneste'. When the new aircraft were delivered, the airline was rebranded Norsk Air.
Norsk Air was the second airline in Europe to oder the Brasilia, after Air Excel. Three were financed with debt from Banco de Brasil, with one being leased. With the introduction of the Brasilias, the airline also started a route from Sandefjord to Trondheim Airport, Værnes
Trondheim Airport, Værnes
Trondheim Airport, Værnes is an international airport located in Stjørdal, east of Trondheim, Norway. Operated by the state-owned Avinor, it shares facilities with Værnes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 2010, the airport had 3,521,734 passengers and 55,747 air movements,...
in 1986. From 1985 to 1986, the airline's costs doubled, but not the income. In 1987, Terje Røsjode, former bank chief for Christiania Bank
Christiania Bank
Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse, branded domestically as Kreditkassen or K-Bank and internationally as Christiania Bank was a Norwegian bank that existed between 1848 and 2000 when it merged with MeritaNordbanken and became Nordea...
in Sandefjord, took over as managing director. The Brasilias had state-of-art technology, and although airlines purchase new aircraft to reduce their maintenance costs, this was not possible for Norsk Air because they did not have sufficient competence to maintain the aircraft. In particular, they lacked sufficient electronic expertise, due to the increase of electronic components in the aircraft. All the other aircraft were sold.
In 1986, the company established a duty free at Torp. By 1987, Norsk Air was losing NOK 20 million per year. The company established a route from Sandefjord to Gothenburg and to London Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
. Neither were profitable, and were quickly terminated. To develop the company, Kosmos and Norsk Air bought the Kirkenes
Kirkenes
is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...
-based airline Norving
Norving
Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At the most, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft.-History:...
, that also operated flights from Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, about an hours drive from Sandefjord, to Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger. Norving had seven types of aircraft, but was losing large sums of money, although 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...
covered their losses on some state-subsidized regional routes. The purchase of Norving caused a conflict with the locals who did not like the company being bought. The operations from Skien were merged into Norsk Air, while the rest of Norving was sold. It went bankrupt in 1993. Norsk Air wanted to also purchase Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
, but none fo the large owners wanted to sell.
Widerøe Norsk Air
On 21 October 1988, CEO Bjørn Bettum and Chari Otto Grieg TidemandOtto Grieg Tidemand
Otto Grieg Tidemand was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in Oslo.From 1965 to 5 June 1970 he served as the Minister of Defence during the centre-right cabinet of Per Borten...
in Kosmos were fired. The Skaugen Group bought the company, and decided to integrated the shipping and oil-related activities into their group. All other investments, including Norsk Air, were to be sold or closed. At the time, Norsk Air had 140 employees. Røsjodet took contact with Bård Mikkelsen, who was CEO of Widerøe, to try to convince them to purchase Norsk Air. Widerøe was a that time solely occupied with flying on the subsidized regional routes. The company wanted to have some non-subsidized routes to better benchmark
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
its operations. The two largest owners, Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines System
Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and the largest airline in Scandinavia....
(SAS) and Braathens SAFE did not want to purchase Norsk Air, but the third-largest owner, Fred. Olsen & Co.
Fred. Olsen & Co.
Fred. Olsen & Co. is a large shipping company based in Oslo, Norway. The company was founded by Petter Olsen in 1848. Today it is the holding company that controls the Olsen family's interest through Bonheur and Ganger Rolf.-History:...
liked the idea, and bought SAS' and Braathens SAFE's 62.3% stake in Widerøe to make the deal possible. Other possible purchasers were Sterling Airlines
Sterling Airlines
Sterling Airlines A/S was a low-cost airline with its head office at Copenhagen Airport South in Dragør, Dragør Municipality, Denmark. It was created in September 2005 through the merger of two Danish airlines — Sterling European Airlines and Maersk Air — which had been bought by the Icelandic...
, Partnair
Partnair
Partnair was a Norwegian charter airline company owned by Terje and Rolf Thoresen. The company was formed by a merger including Nor-Fly Charter in 1985. The company operated mainly in the ad hoc marked with oil companies as their primary customer...
and Jan Einar Johansen, former owner of Scandi Line.
By 1989, the airline had 156 employees and 150,000 annual passengers. On 9 February 1989, the board decided to start the termination process if a sale was not made. The employees agreed to cut their wages 10% and not take sick days during the sales process. One of the main difficulties in the sales process was that Widerøe could not afford to purchase Norsk Air's hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
at the airport. Widerøe wanted to continue operations at both Torp and Geiteryggen for a year to see where to establish its base. In fear that the airline would move to Skien, the municipalities of Sandefjord and Stokke
Stokke
Stokke is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stokke.-Background:The municipality of Stokke was established on 1 January 1838...
, who owned the majority of the airport, agreed to purchase the hangar, that had been built for NOK 20 million in 1987, for NOK 11.5 million. Half the hangar would be rented to Widerøe for NOK 500,000 per year. This was insufficient to cover the NOK 1.2 million in annual interest costs.
Widerøe took over Norsk Air on 1 May 1989 free of charge, and changed the company's name to Widerøe Norsk Air. The company was kept as a subsidiary to avoid cross-subsidization of the subsidized routes. Widerøe started negotiations with Busy Bee, and agreed to lease the Fokker 50 used by Busy Bee to Sandefjord, in exchange for Busy Bee terminating the route in 1990. Widerøe Norsk Air also decided that it was not profitable to fly from both Skien and Sandefjord, and terminated all Skien services. Starting on 28 October 1991, the airline also started a route from Sandefjord via Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik
Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik
Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik is situated northeast of the city Kristiansand, Vest-Agder in southern Norway, located from the city centre. The airport serves the Agder district with domestic and international flights. In 2008 the airport had 915,092 passengers. The airport is operated by Avinor...
to London. This route was terminated one year later. In 1993, Widerøe sold its Fokker 50 to Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2010, it transported 13.0 million people. As of October 2011, Norwegian operates a total fleet of 62 aircraft; 17 Boeing 737-300s and 45 Boeing 737-800s...
. On 1 May 1996, Widerøe Norsk Air was merged with Widerøe.
Destinations
| † | Hub Airline hub An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations... |
| City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport | Begin | End | 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 , .... |
 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... |
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... |
1984 | 1996 | |
| Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region... |
 Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
CPH | EKCH | Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality... |
1985 | 1996 | |
| Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... |
 Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
GOT | ESGG | Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport is an international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With 4.3 million passengers in 2006 it is Sweden's second-largest airport... |
1987 | 1987 | |
| Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040... |
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... |
KRS | ENCN | Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik is situated northeast of the city Kristiansand, Vest-Agder in southern Norway, located from the city centre. The airport serves the Agder district with domestic and international flights. In 2008 the airport had 915,092 passengers. The airport is operated by Avinor... |
1991 | 1992 | |
| London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
 United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
STN | EGSS | London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport -Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures... |
1987 | 1992 | |
| Sandefjord Sandefjord is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838... |
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... |
TRF | ENTO | Sandefjord Airport, Torp† | 1983 | 1996 | |
| Skien Skien ' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county.... |
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... |
SKE | ENSN | Skien Airport, Geiteryggen Skien Airport, Geiteryggen Skien Airport, Geiteryggen is an airport located 2.5 km southwest of the city centre of Skien, Norway. Skien Lufthavn AS operates the airport and this company is owned by the local municipality of Skien in the Grenland region. Services are provided by Danish Air Transport to Bergen and Stavanger... † |
1987 | 1991 | |
| 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... |
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... |
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... |
1983 | 1996 | |
| Trondheim Trondheim Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of... |
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... |
TRD | ENVA | Trondheim Airport, Værnes Trondheim Airport, Værnes Trondheim Airport, Værnes is an international airport located in Stjørdal, east of Trondheim, Norway. Operated by the state-owned Avinor, it shares facilities with Værnes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 2010, the airport had 3,521,734 passengers and 55,747 air movements,... |
1986 | 2004 |