Norsk Air was a Norwegian airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. At its height from the mid-1980s and onwards it operated scheduled flights to Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Copenhagen, and for shorter periods also other Norwegian and international destinations. The airline had 156 employees and 150,000 annual passengers in 1989. The company was established as a sole proprietorship by Øyvind Skaunfelt as Vestfoldfly in 1961, after purchasing Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg. In addition to an aviation college, the company operated various charter services using mostly Cessna aircraft. The company split into a flying school and an airline in 1972, with the latter taking the name Norsk Flytjeneste. Three 50-passenger Douglas DC-6 were subsequently bought and were among other places flown with aid charters to Bangladesh. Both the DC-6 and later charter flights with business jets proved unprofitable and were quickly terminated.
The company turned to regular charter services to Bergen and Stavanger in the 1980s, and from 1984 served the routes with scheduled flights, using seven-passenger Beechcraft 200 King Air. In 1985 the company was converted to a limited company and bought by Kosmos. It subsequently acquired four 30-passenger Embraer EMB 120 Brasilias—as the second European airline. It introduced several new routes, including international flights to Denmark and the United Kingdom, and took the name Norsk Air. The company bought Norving's Skien Airport, Geiteryggen division in 1987 and started operations from a second base. Kosmos failed in 1988 and Norsk Air was eventually given for free to Widerøe in 1990. Skien operations were discontinued the following year and the airline changed name to Widerøe Norsk Air. It remained a subsidiary until being amalgamated in 1996.
History
Vestfoldfly
The airline was established as Vestfoldfly by Øyvind Skaunfelt in 1961. He had been working at Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg, and offered to purchase the school and airplanes when Solberg retired. Two years earlier, Sandefjord Airport, Torp had opened a civilian sector and Skaunfelt decided to establish his company there. In May 1961, he received government permission for commercial flying. He started a newspaper route to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, and could also carry three passengers in his single-engined Cessna. The route continued onwards from Sandefjord to Tønsberg, Larvik and at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. Vestfoldfly also started offering scenic trips and charter. During the summer, the airline also flew seaplanes south along the coast to Kragerø, Risør and Arendal. Other activities involved crop dusting of forest for Felleskjøpet. The airline also provided a target service for the military. Four aircraft were permanently used to tow a target about behind the aircraft, and military personnel would practice shooting at the target.
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. Fjellfly 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, which remained in operation until 1999. The other activity was renamed Norsk Flytjeneste. In 1969, Norsk Flytjeneste and Jotun, a large Sandefjord-based industrial company, established Penguin Air Service, where Norsk Flytjeneste owned 25 percent of the shares. Penguin Air Service company bought a six-seat 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. Most of the traffic was for the oil industry to Stavanger.
Norsk Flytjeneste
In 1972, Norsk Flytjeneste purchased two 50-passenger Douglas DC-6Bs from Braathens SAFE and leased one from Sterling Airways. They were used for domestic and international charter. The largest contract was from the Norwegian Church Aid, who contracted Norsk Flytjeneste to fly aid to Bangladesh. However, the airline failed to make money on the DC-6s, mostly because of the high operating costs, and sold them after a year. The company followed up with purchasing a ten-seat Cessna Citation business jet that they offered in the charter market. However, the market was not large enough, and the jet was sold.