Partnair
| |||||||
Founded | 30 June 1971 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceased operations | 11 October 1989 | ||||||
Operating bases | Oslo Airport, Fornebu | ||||||
Fleet size | 9 (1989) | ||||||
Headquarters | Fornebu, Bærum, Norway |
Partnair A/S was a Norwegian
The airline was established as Paralift in 1968 to allow a group of friends to operate a
The airline merged with Nor-Fly Charter in 1984, acquiring two
History
Paralift
The airline has its background in a group of
The company was incorporated on 30 June 1971[6] and received a commercial air operator's certificate in the fall.[1] The airline took delivery of a de Havilland Dragon Rapide in August, configured for parachuting.[7] The aircraft was kept until 1973.[8]
Until the 1975 retirement of the Cessna 182,[4] Paralift continued to operate parachuting flights. However, it increasingly focused on ad hoc and corporate charter. It targeted a growing market for executive charters using smaller twin-prop aircraft. Although slightly slower, they were significantly more economical that corporate jets. Paralift was able to operate many routes cheaper than scheduled services given that the entire aircraft was filled up. In addition, nonstop flights were available on any conceivable route combination, unlike scheduled services. Paralift was therefore successful at targeting smaller groups of executives traveling as a group.[9]
Paralift operated out of Oslo Airport, Fornebu. It subcontracted maintenance to
Partnair operations
Sometime between 1975 and 1977 the airline changed its name to Partnair. It saw increased business particularly from the booming oil industry. By 1977 the airline was the second-largest light twin-prop operator in the country.[14] The airline flew 5,200 hours with its five aircraft in 1978.[15] The Cheyenne was retired in 1980, replaced by a new Cheyenne a year later which remained in use until 1985.[16]
The first
The shipping company Tenvig bought the airline in 1983. In the following three years, they invested 43 million kroner in the company.[23] From 15 May 1984 the former military terminal at Fornebu was converted into an executive terminal, named Terminal 2. In addition to Partnair moving its flights there, it signed a two-year contract to operate the terminal on behalf of the Civil Aviation Administration.[24]
Partnair bought Nor-Fly Charter in September 1984. Nor-Fly operated two
A new hangar and office building was completed at Oslo Airport, Fornebu in May 1985, having cost 15 million
In the second half of 1984 the airline developed plans to start scheduled traffic, and applied for concession to operate out of
After five months, Partnair had lost 1.2 million kroner on the route.[32] In average, they were selling three to four tickets per flight to Stavanger, and one to Oslo.[33] From March 1986, the leg from Notodden to Oslo was dropped and the service to Stavanger reduced.[34] However, the route proved unprofitable and was eventually terminated later the same month.[35]
The company had a deficit of 6.5 million kroner in 1986.
Parnair was one of several companies discussing a take-over of Norsk Air in 1988.[37] The following year Partnair bought two smaller airlines, Fjellfly/Viking Air based in Kristiansand and 52 percent of Fonnafly based in Stord.[36]
Accident and bankruptcy
Immediately after the accident Partnair grounded the other two Convairs and laid off 17 of its 45 employees. The King Air fleet remained in operation.[41] The company had a poor financial situation before the accident, which was severely aggravated with the accident. By October 1989 the airline was attempting to sell the Convairs.[42] The company filed for bankruptcy on 11 October 1989. At the time the airline had few assets and about 15 to 20 million kroner in debt. All the aircraft were at the time leased.[43]
The assets from Partnair were taken over by a new company, Nye Partnair A/S ("New Partnair"), which was owned by the Thorsen brothers along with Jostein Nerhus and Eirik M. Eide. Nye Partnair was incorporated in January 1990 and bought large portions of the estate in bankruptcy. This gave it an initial fleet of four Beechcraft Super King Air and one Beechcraft King Air.
Fleet
The following is a list of aircraft operated by Paralift and Partnair. It contains the model, the accumulated number of aircraft operated (which may exceed the peak county), the year built, the year the type first entered service with the airline, and the year the last unit was retired.
Model | Qty | Built | First in | Last out | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cessna 180
|
1 | 1956 | 1969 | 1969 | [3] |
Cessna 182
|
1 | 1955 | 1969 | 1975 | [4] |
Cessna 310 | 1 | 1964 | 1970 | 1974 | [5] |
de Havilland Dragon Rapide | 1 | 1944 | 1971 | 1973 | [8] |
Cessna 320
|
1 | 1962 | 1972 | 1975 | [10] |
Cessna 401A
|
1 | 1969 | 1972 | 1976 | [11] |
Cessna 402B | 1 | 1970 | 1974 | 1976 | [11] |
Piper PA-31 Navajo | 6 | 1969 | 1975 | 1984 | [12][13][49] |
Piper PA-31T Cheyenne | 2 | 1977 | 1977 | 1985 | [13][16] |
Cessna 404 Titan | 1 | 1977 | 1978 | 1981 | [13] |
Piper PA-31 Chieftain
|
3 | 1979 | 1979 | 1984 | [12][13] |
Beechcraft King Air 100 | 2 | 1970 | 1978 | 1989 | [17] |
Beechcraft Super King Air 200
|
6 | 1976 | 1980 | 1989 | [12][13] |
Cessna 550 Citation II
|
2 | 1979 | 1983 | 1984 | [20][21] |
Convair CV-580
|
3 | 1953 | 1985 | 1989 | [12][50][51] |
Incidents and accidents
- On 25 September 1977 the Piper PA-31 Navajo LN-PAA crashed into the sea off Oslo Airport, Fornebu. There were no fatalities, although the aircraft was written off.[12]
- On 13 March 1987, a chartered Beechcraft King Air (LN-PAG) with six passengers crashed during landing at Stord Airport, Sørstokken, 20 metres ahead of the runway. The aircraft skidded for about 100 metres before coming to rest in a snow bank. There were no injuries.[52]
- On 8 September 1989, Partnair Flight 394, a Convair CV-580 chartered by a Norwegian shipping company to fly from Oslo to Hamburg crashed off the Skagerrak coast in Denmark near Hirtshals killing all 55 people.[53]
References
- ^ a b "Fortsetter i tung virkelighet". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). 11 September 1989. p. 4.
- ^ a b Nilsen, Petter (11 September 2008). "Dette veteranflyet har dumpet 62000 passasjerer". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). p. 24.
- ^ a b Hagby: 300
- ^ a b c Hagby: 299
- ^ a b c Hagby: 287
- ^ a b "World Airline Directory – Partnair A/S". Flight International: 102. 26 March 1988. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Private Flying". Flight International: 280. 19 August 1971. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ a b Hagby: 120
- ^ a b "Flyr hvor som helst når som helst". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 24 April 1973. p. 13.
- ^ a b Hagby: 152
- ^ a b c d Hagby: 305
- ^ a b c d e f g Hagby: 270
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hagby: 272
- ^ "Light commercial and business – Partnair expands". Flight International: 272. 5 February 1977. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Short finals... short finals..." Flight International: 889. 24 March 1979. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ a b Hagby: 275
- ^ a b Hagby: 273
- ^ "Airliner market". Flight International: 151. 18 July 1981. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Hagby: 376
- ^ a b Hagby: 196
- ^ a b Hagby: 311
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 3.
- ^ a b c Berg, Sveinung (13 September 1984). "Kan bli nedlagt for annen gang". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 48.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 7.
- ^ Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 48.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 16.
- Aftenposten Aften(in Norwegian). p. 42.
- ^ Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Norway: 11
- ^ "Konsesjon på linjetaxiflyvning". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 1 March 1985. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Flyselskapet Partnair åpner torsdag regulære flyginger på" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 14 August 1985.
- ^ a b Guhnfeldt, Cato (16 August 1985). "Stor dag for Notodden igår: Helårs flyrute åpnet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 11.
- ^ "Flyselskapet Partnair, som blant annet trafikkerer flyruta" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 10 January 1986.
- ^ "Lite belegg på ny flyrute" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 23 January 1986.
- ^ "Partnair fortsatt på Notodden". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 7 March 1986. p. 38.
- ^ "TA for 25 år siden". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). 1 March 2011. p. 28.
- ^ a b Oftedal, Hallgeir (13 May 1989). "Partnair inn i to nye flyselskaper". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 13.
- ^ Tjomsland: 149–150
- ^ Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Norway: 2
- ^ "Maintenance a factor in crash". Flight International: 13. 31 March 1993. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- Columbus Dispatch. p. 5B.
- ^ Hay, Trine; Rygnestad, Arild (19 September 1989). "Partnairansatte skal permitteres". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 3.
- ^ Fonbæk, Dag (5 October 1989). "Partnair selger Convairfly". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 4.
- ^ "Flyselskapet Partnair konkurs" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 11 October 1989.
- ^ Resser: 45
- ^ Reitan: 94
- ^ Resser: 47
- ^ Resser: 48
- ^ Resser: 74
- ^ Hagby: 161
- ^ Hagby: 141
- ^ Hagby: 142
- ^ Bakkeli, Tom (14 March 1987). "Partnair i grøfta". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). p. 11.
- ^ Gregersen, M.; Jensen, S. & Knudson, P.J. (1995): The crash of the Partnair Convair 340/580 in the Skagerrak: identification of the deceased. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 66: 158-163.
Bibliography
- Accident Investigation Board Norway (1993). Report on the Convair 340/580 LN-PAA Aircraft Accident North of Hirtshals, Denmark, on September 8, 1989(PDF). Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- Hagby, Kay (1998). Fra Nielsen & Winther til Boeing 747 (in Norwegian). Drammen: Hagby. ISBN 8299475201.
- Reitan, Sverre Utne (2003). Luftfarten på Haugalandet fra 1914 til 2004 (in Norwegian). Karmøy: Eget Forlag.
- Resser, Tor (2005). Stord lufthamn Sørstokken (in Norwegian). Sunnhordland Lufthavn.
- Tjomsland, Audun (2005). Høyt spill om Torp (in Norwegian). Sandefjord: Tjomsland Media. ISBN 82-997212-0-2.