Vildanden (airline)
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Founded | 23 November 2004 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 16 January 2011 | ||||||
Hubs | Skien Airport, Geiteryggen | ||||||
Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
Destinations | 3 | ||||||
Headquarters | Skien, Norway | ||||||
Key people | Tore Sundvor (chair) | ||||||
Website | http://www.vildanden.no |
Vildanden AS ("The Wild Duck") was a
Operation
The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. It provides twenty weekly trips to Bergen and weekly trips to Stavanger.
Destinations
The following list shows all current and former destinations, including the city served, the country, the airport (with IATA airport codes and ICAO airport codes), and the begin and end year of the service.
City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport | Begin | End |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bergen | Norway | BGO | ENBR | Bergen Airport, Flesland | 2005 | 2011 |
Skien | Norway | SKE | ENSN | Skien Airport, Geiteryggen† | 2005 | 2011 |
Stavanger | Norway | SVG | ENZV | Stavanger Airport, Sola |
2005 | 2011 |
History
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
In October 2004, a contract was signed with
Initial service would have 16 weekly departures to
DAT in, Coast Air out
On 19 April, a new
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.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20] In December, the two companies settled outside court.[21]
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.[22] 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.[23] After the placement, 15% of the company was owned by DAT, while Coast Air sold their shares.[24] In 2005, Vildanden had a revenue of NOK 15 million.[25]
More operators
During 2006, the ridership increased, and Vildanden started becoming more aggressive against Widerøe, which was flying to Bergen from Sandefjord Airport. Vildanden stated that they aimed to outperform Widerøe on price to Bergen.[26] 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.[27]
In October, an agreement was signed with the
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.
The fiscal year 2007 gave a revenue of NOK 61 million, and a deficit of NOK 13 million.
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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37]
The company had a loss of NOK 3.4 million in 2008.[38] In April 2009, Vildanden terminated its agreement with Aviatrans with the intention of using larger aircraft.[39] 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.[40]
During the winter of 2008–09, Vildanden was forced to land at Sandefjord Airport 50 times due to weather closing Geiteryggen.
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.[44] 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.[45]
In December 2009, Vildanden announced it plans to operate routes to
References
- ^ "Rutetabell" (in Norwegian). Vildanden. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ Mathisen, Terje; Solvoll, Gisle & Kjærland, Frode (2008). "Lufthavnene i Notodden, Skien og Stord" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Bodø Graduate School of Business. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Johannessen, Bjørn (17 December 2009). "50.000 flyr fra Geiteryggen". Næringsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Om oss" (in Norwegian). Vildanden. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ "Vildanden" (in Norwegian). Vildanden. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ Johannessen, Bjørn (19 December 2007). "Gransker Vildanden". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Vildanden får ikke risikolån". boarding.no (in Norwegian). 12 December 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Tovik, Arne (23 October 2004). "Coast Air vil fly fra Geiteryggen". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ a b Tungesvik, Torbjørn (22 September 2005). "Sprengfulle fly fra Geiteryggen". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ a b Løkkebø, Lars (24 January 2005). "Tar av i dag". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Stakk i 99". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). 11 November 2004.
- ^ Johannessen, Bjørn (18 November 2004). "Nytt ja til flyplassen". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ a b Meyer, Henrik D. (25 November 2004). "Vildanden tar av fra Skien". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation(in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Haugen, Eirik (23 February 2005). "Planlegger nye ruter fra Skien". Varden (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Haugen, Eirik (19 April 2005). "Med "Skien" til Bergen..." Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation(in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Andersen, Trond (1 November 2005). "– Ville stjele passasjerene". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Røyseland, Halstein (1 November 2005). "Full forvirring om flyavgangene". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Horve, Mari (7 November 2005). "Coast Air i "flykrig"". Haugesunds Avis (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ^ Johannessen, Bjørn (2 December 2005). "Flykrigen er over". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Schulstok, Marit (5 January 2006). "Full forvirring om flyavgangene". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Johnsen, Ove (17 December 2005). "Emisjon i Vildanden". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Dahl, Flemming (14 February 2006). "Vildandens tunge flukt". E24 Næringsliv (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ a b Gran, Jon (20 September 2008). "Vurderer Stockholm". Moss Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Vil konkurrere om Bergen". Sandefjords Blad (in Norwegian). 11 February 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Tinholt, Dag (29 July 2006). "Tsjekkerne overtar på Geiteryggen". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Svensker skal fly for 'Vildanden'". boarding.no (in Norwegian). 9 October 2006.
- ^ Tungesvik, Torbjørn (4 January 2007). "Vildanden skal fly til Molde og Stavanger". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ ""Vildandens" første internasjonale avgang". boarding.no (in Norwegian). 13 March 2006. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (17 October 2007). "Unngår konkurs?". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Madsen, Ørjan (27 October 2007). "Gransker Vildanden". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Stautland, Kari (20 May 2007). "Pengar flyg til Stord". Haugesunds Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ^ Thorsen, Thom Erik (6 January 2009). "Flere flyr fra Skien". Varden (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Thorsen, Thom Erik (20 June 2007). "Forland & co vil ta flyplassregningen". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Johannesen, Bjørn (4 July 2008). "Jublet for flyplassen". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Tungesvik, Thorbjørn (5 August 2008). "NHO vil stanse støtte til Geiteryggen". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (30 April 2009). "Kraftig opptur for Vildanden". Varden (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (30 April 2009). "– Vildanden tjener penger". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Gran, Jon (23 July 2009). "Vildanden ser på nye muligheter". Moss Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Gran, Jon (7 March 2009). "Bekrefter Torps sterke posisjon". Sandefjords Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Holen, Holen (23 March 2009). "Ny sjef for Vildanden". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Johansen, Per B. (13 March 2009). "– Aggressivt fra Widerøe". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Tinholt, Dag (5 August 2009). "Dum eller velgjører?". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation(in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Torsen, Tom Erik (17 December 2009). "Vildanden klar for Trondheim". Varden (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation(in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Torsen, Tom Erik (16 December 2009). "Vildanden kan gå mot konkurs". Varden (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (5 February 2010). "Vildanden risikerer tvangs- inndrivelse". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (3 March 2010). "Vildanden slipper tvangsoppgjør". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Hjort-Sørensen, Ørnulf (16 July 2010). "Flyr Trondheims- ruta i september". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ Fredriksen, Thomas Flaathen (14 January 2011). "Her lander den siste passasjer". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
External links