Norway Airlines
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Founded | 2 April 1987 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | February 1988 | ||||||
Ceased operations | 15 October 1992 | ||||||
Operating bases | Stavanger Airport, Sola Oslo Airport, Fornebu | ||||||
Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
Destinations | 2 | ||||||
Headquarters | Tananger, later Fornebu, Norway |
Norway Airlines A/S was a
The airline was established by
History
Establishment
Norway Airlines was established on 2 April 1987[1] by Kjell Adserø and his holding company Hell Holding,[2] along with several other investors from Trøndelag—the largest of which was Lyng Industrier.[1] The business model was to operate charter flights from Norway to the Mediterranean; eighty percent of the market was carried out with foreign airlines and Adserø believed that Norwegians not only would prefer a Norwegian carrier, but would be willing to pay more for one.[2] The company had an initial share capital of NOK 10 million and established its head office and main base at Stavanger Airport, Sola. Separate companies, organized as kommandittselskap, were established to own each aircraft and lease them to the airline.[1] The aircraft owner companies paid 28.7 million United States dollars for each Boeing 737-300, which were delivered new from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Shares in the aircraft owning companies was offered to the public with a four-percent annual return on investment. Part of the investment model was based on tax advantages.[3]
The share capital was expanded to NOK 20 million in September 1987.[4] Among the purchasers was Ansett Australia, who bought a twenty-percent stake.[5] Ragnar Lyng replaced Adeserø as chairman and Johan H. Gedde-Dahl was hired as managing director.[6] Original plans were to start operations on 24 October 1987, but this had to be postponed due to late delivery of the aircraft.[1] Revenue flights commenced in February 1988,[6] after delivery of the airline's first 148-passenger Boeing 737-300, City of Trondheim.[7] The airline's second 737-300, City of Stavanger, was delivered the same month,[1] but was leased to Monarch Airlines. About sixty percent of the company's initial business was flying on contract with Sun Tours.[7]
Gedde-Dahl was replaced by Kristian Åreskjold in March 1988.
The airline was by September again in need of new capital. The contracts with Britannia ended on 1 November. While there was a high demand for 737-300 aircraft, aviation regulations hindered Norway Airlines from
Air Europe announced on 6 December 1988 that they would start a scheduled service between Oslo-Fornebu and London-Gatwick and intended to offer cheaper flights than the incumbents
Norway Airlines applied in 1990 for permission to operate a charter route from Oslo to
The airline reached a non-public settlement with
Air Europe fell under financial distress in 1991 and terminated all its Gatwick operations on 8 March. This resulted in Norway Airlines having to ground both its aircraft.
Nordic cooperation
Denmark's
In September 1991, the government changed the policy for the military's procurement of air transport from 1 April 1992. This involved that the transport of 200,000 people annually would be transferred to scheduled services, resulting in Norway Airlines losing the opportunity to extend its engagement with the military.[38] The route from Oslo to London was introduced on 3 October, at first with four weekly services, increasing to nine from 23 October. The three partner airlines launched their alliance as the TransNordic Group and would use a bowler hat as their common symbol.[39] However, the routes arrived so late in the evening that the last flights from Fornebu to Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger and Tromsø had all departed.[40] After five months the airline had achieved a 55-percent cabin factor on the London route.[41] The ministry rejected in December 1991 the airline's application for flying to Stockholm and Copenhagen.[42] By December the British airline Dan-Air had also established itself on the Oslo–London route. To meet the price competition, SAS launched discounted business class tickets.[43] In the course of twelve months from late 1991 to late 1992, the capacity between Oslo and London doubled, as also Norsk Air introduced a service from Sandefjord Airport, Torp.[44]
Norway Airlines lost NOK 32 to 33 million in 1991.[45] Norway Airlines replaced its two 737-300 aircraft with two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft leased from Transwede, one MD-83 and one MD-87.[41] For the owners of the Boeing aircraft the move meant that they had to find a new lessee in a marketed where leasing prices had fallen from US$250,000 to US$150–180,000 per month.[33] An interlining agreement was signed by Norway Airlines in March with British Airways and 25 other airlines at Gatwick.[41] Norway Airlines announced on 15 March that it would take over the 25 Sterling employees in Norway in October.[46] TransNordic Group started negotiations in June with Braathens SAFE, Maersk Air and Conair of Scandinavia for them to join the alliance. Prior to the roll-out of Amadeus reservation system in July 1992, Norway Airlines had not been included in the default searched of travel agents, who had to phone the airline to get a price quote.[47]
Foreign airlines were from 1 April 1992 permitted to fly passengers between the Scandinavian capitals, and both
Norway Airline's board voted on 14 October 1992 to file for bankruptcy,[50] and all aircraft were grounded on 15 October 1992. The official reason was "the crisis in the airline industry and unacceptable profitability", combined with Norwegian authorities' lack of willingness to grant the airline concessions.[51] The airline had lost more than NOK 100 million by the start of the year and had failed to make a profit during 1992.[45] Norway Airlines entered negotiations with Air Holland for the latter to purchase the airline, but the deal fell through on 1 December.[52] Within days of the bankruptcy, Dan-Air also terminated operations. Braathens SAFE therefore decided to start flying the Fornebu–Gatwick route. Six days after Dan-Air's closure, the first schedules were published in the newspaper; slots and British permission was granted three days after that. The service started another two days later.[53]
Organization
When established, the company was based at
Norway Airlines had a single-class service on their route and in their marketing claimed that they offered "business class service to everyone".
Destinations
Norway Airlines only operated a single scheduled service, between Oslo and London. The route was flown nine times per week, two round trips per day on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and one round trip per day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.[39] The route saw an average 60,000 to 70,000 passengers per year.[45]
City | Country | Airport |
---|---|---|
Oslo | Norway | Oslo Airport, Fornebu |
London | United Kingdom | London Gatwick Airport
|
Fleet
Norway Airlines operated the following aircraft:[41]
Model | Period | Quantity |
---|---|---|
Boeing 737-300 | 1988–1992 | 2 |
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1992 | 1 |
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 1992 | 1 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Norway Airlines operativt fra årsskiftet" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 23 July 1987.
- ^ a b Elsrud, Sigrid (23 July 1987). "Sommerpraten: Uredd trønder". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 8.
- ^ Mageli, Håkon (21 May 1988). "ANS-andeler for enhver smak". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 28.
- ^ "Nytt norsk flyselskap inn i chartertrafikken" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 2 September 1987.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (7 August 1987). "Murdoch vil inn i norsk flyselskap". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 7.
- ^ a b c "Flysjef i nystartet selskap avsatt etter en måned" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 7 March 1988.
- ^ a b c d Elsrud, Sigrid (24 May 1988). "Norway Airlines flyr videre". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 22.
- ^ Anda, Torgeir (20 May 1988). "Emisjon i Norway Airlines". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 2.
- ^ Vassbø, Tone (6 June 1988). "Britisk avtale gir nytt håp". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 12.
- ^ "Problemer for Norway Airlines". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 29 September 1988. p. 41.
- ^ "Mulig eierskifte i Norway Airlines". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 11 October 1988. p. 4.
- ^ Anda, Torgeir (27 October 1988). "Mot arbeidsro i Norway Airlines". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 15.
- ^ "Ny flyrute og priskonkurranse Oslo–London" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 6 December 1988.
- ^ "Billigere til London fra 15. mai". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 28 March 1989. p. 16.
- ^ "Utfordrer SAS: Ny flyrute til London". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 13 May 1989. p. 8.
- ^ a b c d Anda, Torgeir (30 July 1990). "Har satset 90 millioner – stoppes av SAS-monopol". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 3.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 16.
- ^ Korme, Oddvar (30 August 1989). "Air Europe vil doble". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 18.
- ^ a b c d "Norway airlines innstiller driften inntil videre" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 8 March 1991.
- ^ "Går glipp av 100 arbeidsplasser etter charter-avslag" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 7 August 1990.
- ^ a b Anda, Torgeir (8 August 1990). "Regjeringsstrid om Malaysia-charter". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 2.
- ^ "Ny vurdering av chaterpolitikken" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 8 August 1990.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 7.
- ^ a b Anda, Torgeir (3 December 1990). "Tøff utfordrer". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 2.
- ^ Gustad, Ragnhild (11 September 1990). "Air Express 2". Nordlys (in Norwegian). p. 8.
- ^ Anda, Torgeir (11 January 1991). "Norway Airlines vant luftkrig med Busy Bee". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 16.
- ^ "Nytt fra statsråd". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 19 January 1991. p. 23.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (19 January 1991). "Avviser London flyrute?". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 13.
- ^ Brynhildsen, Rune (21 February 1991). "Luftfartsloven stanser rute på London". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 14.
- ^ Vassbø, Tone (25 May 1991). "Mange interessert i Norway Airlines". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 10.
- ^ a b Vassbø, Tone (9 April 1991). "Gullivers på pinebenken". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 11.
- ^ Vassbø, Tone (25 April 1991). "Lyng øker i Norway Airline". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 13.
- ^ a b Vassbø, Tone (11 February 1992). "Optimistisk flyeier benekter dramatikk". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 11.
- ^ "Flyselskap taper". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 21 May 1991. p. 4.
- ^ a b Vassbø, Tone (19 June 1991). "Sterling går inn i Norway Airlines". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 28.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (19 June 1991). "Norway Airlines på vingene igjen: Sterling Airways inn som ny eier". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 32.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (8 July 1991). "Norway Airlines: Fokus inn og ut av flyselskap". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 19.
- ^ Rød, Morten (11 September 1991). "Ny avtale bedrer flytilbud i nord". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 11.
- ^ a b c Otterdal, Magne (13 September 1991). "Rift om billetter på det nye London-flyet". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 4.
- ^ Haarstad, Bente (2 October 1991). "Lavpris til London bare for Østlandet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 14.
- ^ a b c d Rød, Morten (23 March 1992). "Fortsatt minus for Norway Airlines". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 8.
- ^ Vassbø, Tone (6 December 1991). "Nei til nye ruter for Norway Airlines". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 16.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (13 December 1991). "SAS i priskrig". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 21.
- ^ Tinholt, Dag (15 October 1992). "Priskonkurranse knekte lønnsomheten". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 8.
- ^ a b c d Hellestøl, Yngve (14 October 1992). "Alle er sikret hjemreise: Norway Airlines gir opp". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 24.
- ^ "Samler flyvirksomhet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 16 March 1991. p. 24.
- ^ Kvilesjø, Svend Ole (7 July 1992). "Nøytralt "Amadeus"system finner billig reisealternativ". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 14.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (8 April 1992). "Norway Airlines". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 24.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (22 May 1992). "Flyvninger mellom de skandinaviske hovedsteder: Seks vil kjempe med SAS". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 24.
- ^ "Norwayansatte ser etter nye eiere". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 15 October 1992. p. 29.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 2.
- ^ Hansen, Lars Ditlev (1 December 1992). "Nei til Norway Air". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 25.
- ISBN 82-990400-1-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ a b Krosby, Thor Petter (16 October 1991). "Ingen service hos Norway Airlines?". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 7.
- ^ Andersen, Tom (2 May 1992). "Flyvende, forbannet direktør". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 33.