Vildanden (airline)
Encyclopedia
Vildanden AS was a virtual
, regional airline
based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
in Norway
, where it was the only airline. With operations starting in 2005, it flew to Bergen
, Trondheim
and Stavanger
using a Jetstream 32 and a ATR 42
, which is wet lease
d from Danish Air Transport (DAT) and Helitrans
. Previously, the airline has also served Stockholm
and Molde
, and has also operated Saab 340
aircraft, operated by Coast Air
, Air Aurora and Avitrans
. The airline hadbeen in conflict with Coast Air about terminating the wet lease agreement. The company has had to be bailed out several times, including by the municipality, until it managed to make its first profit in 2009. It ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in January 2011.
, which seats 48 passengers and is operated by Danish Air Transport, and one Jetstream 32, which seats 19 and is operated by Helitrans
. The airline used Sandefjord Airport, Torp as its reserve airport in case of bad weather. The airline is named after the play The Wild Duck
written by Henrik Ibsen
, who was born in Skien. The slogan "The shortest path between Ibsen and Grieg" is a pun on the Bergen composer Edvard Grieg
's and Ibsen's names. The largest owner is Magne Forland, who owns 70%.
s and ICAO airport code
s), and the begin and end year of the service.
(one that owns none of its equipment, leasing everything from others), and wet lease
operations from other companies. Initial plans had been started in 2003 to cooperate with Dutch airline Denim Air
, with a 50-seater aircraft, but these plans did not work out.
In October 2004, a contract was signed with Haugesund
-based Coast Air
, who would operate Jetstream 31 aircraft between Skien and Bergen. The owner of Coast Air, Kystfly, also bought 20% of Vildanden. Coast Air had previously operated routes from Skien to Western Norway, but had withdrawn in 1999. Following the announcement from Vildanden and Coast Air, the municipality decided to not close the airport, and cover the estimated NOK 300,000 annual deficit, as well as upgrade the control tower
for NOK 700,000. The airport had been closed since 2002, following the increased domestic and international traffic from near-by Sandefjord Airport, Torp.
Initial service would have 16 weekly departures to Bergen Airport, Flesland
. The main market segment is the offshore petroleum industry, and the departure times were designed to mesh with helicopter routes to offshore installations. The company estimated that one-quarter of travellers would be people commuting to the North Sea
. Norsk Hydro
, who have a lot of employees in the Grenland area, stated that they could not start using Vildanden because they had an agreement with SAS Braathens
' services from Sandefjord. The first scheduled service flew on 24 January 2005, carrying eight passengers. This first month, 972 passengers took the plane, and Vildanden announced that they would try to also start a route to Stavanger Airport, Sola
, as well as potentially to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
.
, with a capacity of 48 seats, was signed in mid-October.
To be able to breach the agreement with Coast Air—who still had a wet leasing contract, but were not able to put into operation a larger aircraft—the company Skien Lufttransport AS was created, and it purchased all the revenue and passenger rights from Vildanden. At the same time, it became the legal counterpart for DAT. The new aircraft was put into service on 31 October, branded with the Vildanden logo. Coast Air chose to continue operating the route between Bergen and Skien in their own name, and used the same aircraft and slot times. At Skien Airport, the Vildanden passengers were given the choice between Coast Air and Vildanden, and all nineteen chose Vildanden. On the return flight, three passengers chose each airline. Both aircraft flew to Skien, but due to heavy rain, only the aircraft from DAT was able to land. The passengers who had taken the Coast Air aircraft, were forced to land at Sandefjord Airport instead.
The following day, Coast Air terminated their flights, but stated that they still had an agreement with Vildanden. Skien Lufttransport on their hand stated that Vildanden was now a sleeping company, and that the contract therefore was terminated. Both companies considered the incident a legal matter. In December, the two companies settled outside court.
At the same time, the municipal council was considering the future of the airport. The city engineer estimated it would need a subsidy of NOK 2 million in 2006, and the politicians, who wanted the airport to run without subsidies, demanded that Vildanden guarantee for the deficit. This was rejected by Vildanden—on the contrary, the company was in dire need for more capital, and issued a private placement for NOK 4 million in December 2005. The company had since the start been losing money, and needed extra capital to get through the rough until it could make an operating profit. After the placement, 15% of the company was owned by DAT, while Coast Air sold their shares. In 2005, Vildanden had a revenue of NOK 15 million.
, which was flying to Bergen from Sandefjord Airport. Vildanden stated that they aimed to outperform Widerøe on price to Bergen. The ATR-42 turned out to be too large; from 1 July, operations was taken over by the Czech company Air Aurora, with a smaller 30-seater Saab 340
. This reduced the monthly leasing costs from NOK 700,000 to NOK 550,000. DAT remained responsible for the booking system.
In October, an agreement was signed with the Avitrans
of Sweden to take over operations. This also included a second aircraft, so the airline could start operations to Stavanger and Molde in 2007. From 18 March, Vildanden also started three weekly departures from Skien to Stockholm-Skavsta Airport
. The route was necessary to transport personnel from Avitrans' hub at Bromma to Skien.
, which was NOK 8 million. The case raised local debate about whether it was the municipality's job to subsidize the airport and the airline. The Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
announced that they would consider reporting the subsidies to the EFTA Surveillance Authority
(ESA) for violation of the European Community competition law.
The fiscal year 2007 gave a revenue of NOK 61 million, and a deficit of NOK 13 million. During the airport strike in May 2008—which closed Bergen Airport—Vildanden had full planes since they could land them on the short runway at near-by Stord Airport, Sørstokken
. In 2008, 50,000 people used Skien Airport, most of whom flew with Vildanden.
On 19 June 2008, the municipal council voted to not give further subsidies to the airport. Upgrades for NOK 8 million were needed to meed safety standard. The airport operator had debt of NOK 12 million, and no realizeable assets. Vildanden was under certain conditions willing to pay some of the capital needed to perform the upgrades. The municipal council changed their opinion and voted—with a single decisive vote—to keep the airport running in July. The financial risk would be taken over by the municipal-owned Kontorbygg, who operate a range of offices and commercial buildings in Skien. The proposal was supported by the right-winged parties, and opposed by the socialist parties, as well as the chair of Kontorbygg. As a response, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries reported the municipality to ESA, and demanded that NOK 20 million in illegal subsidies be repaid by Vildanden and the airport operator.
The company had a loss of NOK 3.4 million in 2008. In April 2009, Vildanden terminated its agreement with Aviatrans with the intention of using larger aircraft. In July, an agreement was made with DAT to operate an ATR-42 on the Bergen route. From 1 August, the Stockholm route was terminated. The company stated that they had been considering having a stop-over at Moss Airport, Rygge
on the Stockholm flights, but instead decided to terminate the route.
During the winter of 2008–09, Vildanden was forced to land at Sandefjord Airport 50 times due to weather closing Geiteryggen. In March, Widerøe started a marketing campaign to attract people from Grenland to use their routes at Torp. Local Liberal Party politician Gustav Søvde stated that he was opposed to Widerøe advertising in the Telemark press for their services. At the same time, Asbjørn Anthonisen, previous chief of operations in Malmö Aviation
, was hired as new CEO.
Magne Forland increased his ownership in the company to 70% in August, after he had previously given NOK 10.5 million in interest-free loans to the company. On 11 November 2009, the German pilots on a flight from Skien to Bergen announced that only 28 of the passengers, without baggage, could take the ride. The reason was bad weather, which was described as "normal Norwegian rain" by the airline afterwards. This caused several commuters to miss their connecting flights on helicopters to offshore installations. The airline later stated that it was caused by the pilots not being aware of the safety equipment installed at Geiteryggen.
In December 2009, Vildanden announced it plans to operate routes to Trondheim Airport, Værnes
, but lacks financial maneuverability to commence operations. By October 2009, Vildanden owed Kontorbygg, the operator of Geiteryggen, NOK 1.5 million in airport fees. Kontorbygg stated that if Vildanden did not pay, the airport would have to file for bankruptcy. Innovation Norway
rejected to give Vildanden a loan for NOK 3.5 million in December 2009. Kontorbygg stated that the operation of Geiteryggen had cost the municipality NOK 50 million in the course of the five years Vildanden had been operating from it. In February 2010, the Municipality of Skien announced that it required Vildanden to pay back the NOK 3.1 million, plus NOK 200,000 in interest, that they borrowed in 2007. The loan was renewed in March, after Vildanden paid NOK 385,000. From 16 August, Helitrans
took over as the operator, using an ATR 42. From 6 September, the company started with flights to Trondheim. The company ceased operations after its last flight on 14 January 2011.
Virtual Airline (economics)
In economics, a virtual airline is an airline that has outsourced as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintains effective control of its core business. Such an airline focuses on operating a network of air services, and outsourcing non-core activities to other...
, regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
based 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...
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...
, where it was the only airline. With operations starting in 2005, it flew 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...
and 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...
using a Jetstream 32 and a ATR 42
ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
, which is wet lease
Wet lease
Aircraft leases are a number of types of leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons; to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity...
d from Danish Air Transport (DAT) and Helitrans
Helitrans
Helitrans is a Norwegian helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and aircraft maintenance company based at Trondheim Airport, Værnes established in 1990. The airline also has bases in Mo i Rana Airport, Røssvoll, Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy and Sandefjord Airport, Torp in Norway...
. Previously, the airline has also served Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Molde
Molde
is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...
, and has also operated 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...
aircraft, operated by Coast Air
Coast Air
Coast Air AS was a regional airline based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It was Norway's fourth-largest airline and operated domestic services within Norway, in addition to international services. Routes were concentrated along the West Coast, as well as some public service obligation...
, Air Aurora and Avitrans
Avitrans
Avitrans was a charter airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. It operated ad hoc passenger and cargo charters, as well as wet-leasing aircraft to other carriers. It started operations in 2004 and had 70 employees. Its main base was Växjö Airport...
. The airline hadbeen in conflict with Coast Air about terminating the wet lease agreement. The company has had to be bailed out several times, including by the municipality, until it managed to make its first profit in 2009. It ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in January 2011.
Operation
The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. It provides twenty weekly trips to Bergen and weekly trips to Stavanger. In 2009, 50,000 people traveled with Vildanden. The company has one ATR 42ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
, which seats 48 passengers and is operated by Danish Air Transport, and one Jetstream 32, which seats 19 and is operated by Helitrans
Helitrans
Helitrans is a Norwegian helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and aircraft maintenance company based at Trondheim Airport, Værnes established in 1990. The airline also has bases in Mo i Rana Airport, Røssvoll, Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy and Sandefjord Airport, Torp in Norway...
. The airline used Sandefjord Airport, Torp as its reserve airport in case of bad weather. The airline is named after the play The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed...
written by Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, who was born in Skien. The slogan "The shortest path between Ibsen and Grieg" is a pun on the Bergen composer Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's and Ibsen's names. The largest owner is Magne Forland, who owns 70%.
Destinations
The following list shows all current and former destinations, including the city served, the country, the airport (with IATA airport codeIATA airport code
An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...
s and ICAO airport code
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...
s), and the begin and end year of the service.
| City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport | Begin | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
2005 | present |
| 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... † |
2005 | present |
| 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... |
2005 | present |
Establishment
Vildanden was founded on 23 November 2004 by 18 local investors who wanted to start commercial scheduled flights from Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. For a long period, there had been a public debate about closing the airport. Owned by the municipality, the airport was receiving annual subsidies of NOK 2.5 million from the municipality, and NOK 3.8 million from the state. It was decided to operate Vildanden as a virtual airlineVirtual Airline (economics)
In economics, a virtual airline is an airline that has outsourced as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintains effective control of its core business. Such an airline focuses on operating a network of air services, and outsourcing non-core activities to other...
(one that owns none of its equipment, leasing everything from others), and wet lease
Wet lease
Aircraft leases are a number of types of leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons; to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity...
operations from other companies. Initial plans had been started in 2003 to cooperate with Dutch airline Denim Air
Denim Air
Denim Air B.V. is a charter airline based in Mijdrecht, the Netherlands. It provides ACMI wet lease services to other airlines. Its main base is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.It is wholly owned by Panta Holdings and had 242 employees ....
, with a 50-seater aircraft, but these plans did not work out.
In October 2004, a contract was signed with Haugesund
Haugesund Airport, Karmøy
Haugesund Airport, Karmøy is the airport serving the city of Haugesund in Norway. It is located on the west side of the island and municipality of Karmøy, southwest of Haugesund. The airport was opened in 1975 and is operated by Avinor....
-based Coast Air
Coast Air
Coast Air AS was a regional airline based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It was Norway's fourth-largest airline and operated domestic services within Norway, in addition to international services. Routes were concentrated along the West Coast, as well as some public service obligation...
, who would operate Jetstream 31 aircraft between Skien and Bergen. The owner of Coast Air, Kystfly, also bought 20% of Vildanden. Coast Air had previously operated routes from Skien to Western Norway, but had withdrawn in 1999. Following the announcement from Vildanden and Coast Air, the municipality decided to not close the airport, and cover the estimated NOK 300,000 annual deficit, as well as upgrade the control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
for NOK 700,000. The airport had been closed since 2002, following the increased domestic and international traffic from near-by Sandefjord Airport, Torp.
Initial service would have 16 weekly departures 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...
. The main market segment is the offshore petroleum industry, and the departure times were designed to mesh with helicopter routes to offshore installations. The company estimated that one-quarter of travellers would be people commuting to 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...
. 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...
, who have a lot of employees in the Grenland area, stated that they could not start using Vildanden because they had an agreement with SAS Braathens
SAS Braathens
SAS Braathens was the name of Norway's largest airline, created by a merger between Scandinavian Airlines' Norwegian division and Braathens in 2004. On June 1, 2007, the airline was integrated into mainline SAS, and changed its name to SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge...
' services from Sandefjord. The first scheduled service flew on 24 January 2005, carrying eight passengers. This first month, 972 passengers took the plane, and Vildanden announced that they would try to also start a route to 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...
, as well as potentially to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
.
DAT in, Coast Air out
On 19 April, a new Jetstream 32 aircraft was taken into service. This allowed capacity to increase from 12 to 19 passengers, and at the same time travel time was reduced from 47 to 39 minutes. By September, the most popular departures were being booked full, and Vildanden asked Coast Air for a larger aircraft, with about 30 seats. In addition to allowing more passengers, larger planes would give higher comfort, and allow a more flexible ticket pricing scheme. An agreement with Danish Air Transport (DAT) to operate an ATR 42ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
, with a capacity of 48 seats, was signed in mid-October.
To be able to breach the agreement with Coast Air—who still had a wet leasing contract, but were not able to put into operation a larger aircraft—the company Skien Lufttransport AS was created, and it purchased all the revenue and passenger rights from Vildanden. At the same time, it became the legal counterpart for DAT. The new aircraft was put into service on 31 October, branded with the Vildanden logo. Coast Air chose to continue operating the route between Bergen and Skien in their own name, and used the same aircraft and slot times. At Skien Airport, the Vildanden passengers were given the choice between Coast Air and Vildanden, and all nineteen chose Vildanden. On the return flight, three passengers chose each airline. Both aircraft flew to Skien, but due to heavy rain, only the aircraft from DAT was able to land. The passengers who had taken the Coast Air aircraft, were forced to land at Sandefjord Airport instead.
The following day, Coast Air terminated their flights, but stated that they still had an agreement with Vildanden. Skien Lufttransport on their hand stated that Vildanden was now a sleeping company, and that the contract therefore was terminated. Both companies considered the incident a legal matter. In December, the two companies settled outside court.
At the same time, the municipal council was considering the future of the airport. The city engineer estimated it would need a subsidy of NOK 2 million in 2006, and the politicians, who wanted the airport to run without subsidies, demanded that Vildanden guarantee for the deficit. This was rejected by Vildanden—on the contrary, the company was in dire need for more capital, and issued a private placement for NOK 4 million in December 2005. The company had since the start been losing money, and needed extra capital to get through the rough until it could make an operating profit. After the placement, 15% of the company was owned by DAT, while Coast Air sold their shares. In 2005, Vildanden had a revenue of NOK 15 million.
More operators
During 2006, the ridership increased, and Vildanden started becoming more aggressive against WiderøeWiderøe
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...
, which was flying to Bergen from Sandefjord Airport. Vildanden stated that they aimed to outperform Widerøe on price to Bergen. The ATR-42 turned out to be too large; from 1 July, operations was taken over by the Czech company Air Aurora, with a smaller 30-seater 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...
. This reduced the monthly leasing costs from NOK 700,000 to NOK 550,000. DAT remained responsible for the booking system.
In October, an agreement was signed with the Avitrans
Avitrans
Avitrans was a charter airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. It operated ad hoc passenger and cargo charters, as well as wet-leasing aircraft to other carriers. It started operations in 2004 and had 70 employees. Its main base was Växjö Airport...
of Sweden to take over operations. This also included a second aircraft, so the airline could start operations to Stavanger and Molde in 2007. From 18 March, Vildanden also started three weekly departures from Skien to Stockholm-Skavsta Airport
Stockholm-Skavsta Airport
Stockholm-Skavsta Airport , or Nyköping Airport is an international airport near Nyköping, Sweden, approximately southwest of Stockholm. It is served by low-cost airlines and cargo operators...
. The route was necessary to transport personnel from Avitrans' hub at Bromma to Skien.
Troubled times
By October 2007, Vildanden was in severe financial distress. An agreement was made with the municipal council, where the latter gave a credit loan to the airline. The route to Molde had given large deficits, and the company was forced to close it down. NOK 2.3 million, equal to the airlines debt to the airport, was granted to the municipal-owned airport operator, and the company allowed to make an agreement where half the debt was deleted, and the other half made interest and principal-free for two years. At the same time, the management of Vildanden had to raise new capital equal to at least half the companies accounts payableAccounts payable
Accounts payable is a file or account sub-ledger that records amounts that a person or company owes to suppliers, but has not paid yet , sometimes referred as trade payables. When an invoice is received, it is added to the file, and then removed when it is paid...
, which was NOK 8 million. The case raised local debate about whether it was the municipality's job to subsidize the airport and the airline. The Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
The Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries is an employers' organisation in Norway, organized under the national Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise....
announced that they would consider reporting the subsidies to the EFTA Surveillance Authority
EFTA Surveillance Authority
The European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority performs the executive role of the European Commission in the countries of the European Free Trade Association which are part of the European Economic Area ....
(ESA) for violation of the European Community competition law.
The fiscal year 2007 gave a revenue of NOK 61 million, and a deficit of NOK 13 million. During the airport strike in May 2008—which closed Bergen Airport—Vildanden had full planes since they could land them on the short runway at near-by Stord Airport, Sørstokken
Stord Airport, Sørstokken
Stord Airport, Sørstokken is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken in Stord, Norway. Located from Leirvik, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnhordland. The airport consists of a single asphalted long 15–33 runway. It is classified as an airport of entry.Danish...
. In 2008, 50,000 people used Skien Airport, most of whom flew with Vildanden.
On 19 June 2008, the municipal council voted to not give further subsidies to the airport. Upgrades for NOK 8 million were needed to meed safety standard. The airport operator had debt of NOK 12 million, and no realizeable assets. Vildanden was under certain conditions willing to pay some of the capital needed to perform the upgrades. The municipal council changed their opinion and voted—with a single decisive vote—to keep the airport running in July. The financial risk would be taken over by the municipal-owned Kontorbygg, who operate a range of offices and commercial buildings in Skien. The proposal was supported by the right-winged parties, and opposed by the socialist parties, as well as the chair of Kontorbygg. As a response, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries reported the municipality to ESA, and demanded that NOK 20 million in illegal subsidies be repaid by Vildanden and the airport operator.
The company had a loss of NOK 3.4 million in 2008. In April 2009, Vildanden terminated its agreement with Aviatrans with the intention of using larger aircraft. In July, an agreement was made with DAT to operate an ATR-42 on the Bergen route. From 1 August, the Stockholm route was terminated. The company stated that they had been considering having a stop-over at Moss Airport, Rygge
Moss Airport, Rygge
Moss Airport, Rygge is an international airport serving Moss, Oslo and Eastern Norway, located in Rygge. It is both a regional airport for Østfold as well as an airport for low-cost airlines. The airport is located outside Moss and outside Oslo and is owned and operated by the private company...
on the Stockholm flights, but instead decided to terminate the route.
During the winter of 2008–09, Vildanden was forced to land at Sandefjord Airport 50 times due to weather closing Geiteryggen. In March, Widerøe started a marketing campaign to attract people from Grenland to use their routes at Torp. Local Liberal Party politician Gustav Søvde stated that he was opposed to Widerøe advertising in the Telemark press for their services. At the same time, Asbjørn Anthonisen, previous chief of operations in Malmö Aviation
Malmö Aviation
Malmö Aviation is a regional airline based in Malmö, Sweden. It operates scheduled services within Sweden from Stockholm, as well as scheduled international services to Belgium and France. Its main base is Malmö Airport, with a hub at Stockholm-Bromma Airport....
, was hired as new CEO.
Magne Forland increased his ownership in the company to 70% in August, after he had previously given NOK 10.5 million in interest-free loans to the company. On 11 November 2009, the German pilots on a flight from Skien to Bergen announced that only 28 of the passengers, without baggage, could take the ride. The reason was bad weather, which was described as "normal Norwegian rain" by the airline afterwards. This caused several commuters to miss their connecting flights on helicopters to offshore installations. The airline later stated that it was caused by the pilots not being aware of the safety equipment installed at Geiteryggen.
In December 2009, Vildanden announced it plans to operate routes 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,...
, but lacks financial maneuverability to commence operations. By October 2009, Vildanden owed Kontorbygg, the operator of Geiteryggen, NOK 1.5 million in airport fees. Kontorbygg stated that if Vildanden did not pay, the airport would have to file for bankruptcy. Innovation Norway
Innovation Norway
Innovation Norway is a state-owned company started in 2004 that replaced four governmental organisations. These organisations were:* The Norwegian Tourist Board* The Norwegian Trade Council* The Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund...
rejected to give Vildanden a loan for NOK 3.5 million in December 2009. Kontorbygg stated that the operation of Geiteryggen had cost the municipality NOK 50 million in the course of the five years Vildanden had been operating from it. In February 2010, the Municipality of Skien announced that it required Vildanden to pay back the NOK 3.1 million, plus NOK 200,000 in interest, that they borrowed in 2007. The loan was renewed in March, after Vildanden paid NOK 385,000. From 16 August, Helitrans
Helitrans
Helitrans is a Norwegian helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and aircraft maintenance company based at Trondheim Airport, Værnes established in 1990. The airline also has bases in Mo i Rana Airport, Røssvoll, Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy and Sandefjord Airport, Torp in Norway...
took over as the operator, using an ATR 42. From 6 September, the company started with flights to Trondheim. The company ceased operations after its last flight on 14 January 2011.