Widerøe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and the largest regional airline operating in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer 190-E2 aircraft, serving 49 domestic and international
destinations :''This article covers a Girl Scouts of the USA, Girl Scouts event: for vacation destinations see Vacation spot (disambiguation)'' Girl Scout Destinations, formerly Wider Opportunities or Wider Ops, are events for individual Girl Scouts (ages 11 ...
. Widerøe has a turnover of ; carries 2.8 million annual passengers; has 3,500 employees and performs 450 take-offs and landings each day. The company's head offices are in Bodø, although it retains a large administrative center in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and a smaller office in Mosjøen. The main bases are Sandefjord, Bodø,
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
, Bergen, and Oslo. Widerøe also has a technical base in Florø.


History

The airline was established in 1934 by Viggo Widerøe, a Norwegian aviator, and was engaged in various
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
activities in its early days. In 1936, Widerøe started scheduled seaplane flights and, from 1940, also ambulance flights. During the 1940s and 1950s, the airline increased its seaplane routes and established a fleet based on
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same role ...
and Noorduyn Norseman aircraft. From 1968, Widerøe started flying to
STOLport A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of a certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although wa ...
s in northern and western Norway using DHC-6 Twin Otters, and later also with Dash 7 aircraft. In 1989, Widerøe bought Norsk Air and started services from
Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...
. Widerøe was established on the foundations of two small aircraft operators. The first was the company Lotsberg & Skappel. The other was Widerøe & Bjørneby, which was founded by Viggo Widerøe and Halvor Bjørneby. During the winter, they stationed aircraft at mountain resorts and made revenue from flying skiers into the wilderness. Aerial advertising flights were introduced, in which a company or product name was painted on an aircraft's fuselage, with a neon-light version underneath, and leaflets dropped mid-flight. On 19 February 1934, Widerøe's Flyveselskap A/S was founded by Viggo Widerøe, Einar Isdahl, and Arild Widerøe. In 1935, the company started in the cartography business. In 1937, the company made 44 flights along the coast of
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
, covering of coast at least inland. These flights were ordered by
Lars Christensen Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norway, Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. Career Lars Christensen was born at Sandar, Norway, S ...
for cartography. During 1938, the company's Bogstad workshop and Birger Hønningstad started a joint venture in which Widerøe built Hønningstad Norge aircraft. Following the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, all pilots were conscripted into the military and there was a ban on civilian aviation. In 1940, the company started
air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
flights for the military. Following the German invasion of Norway, many of Widerøe's pilots and aircraft were flown to Mjøsa where they served as part of the defence. All civilian aircraft were grounded during
the occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over f ...
, and German authorities demanded that magnetos and propellers be handed in. The workshop at Bogstad was kept busy with the production of ambulance sleds for the German military. In secret, the company also started building the Hønningstad C-5 Polar ambulance aircraft at Bogstad. After the liberation of Norway in 1945, there was still a flight ban, and the employees at Bogstad were hired by the
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...
at Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company received permission to fly from 2 February 1946. In 1947, Forenede Industrier bought the majority of the company. Viggo Widerøe was again hired as managing director. In 1948, the company merged with Narvik-based Polarfly, and changed its name to Widerøe's Flyveselskap & Polarfly A/S. The following year, the company began an aerial photography operation. In 1953, the company chose to differentiate and started production of emergency rafts; refrigerated garages in aluminium; and thermoelements for industry. In 1954, the company received a subcontract from
Scandinavian Airlines System The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the Flag carrier, national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna Municipality, Solna, Sweden. Including ...
(SAS), the successor of DNL, to operate a seaplane route from Tromsø via Alta, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes to Vadsø. For this route, the company bought its first de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter. On 1 July 1958, the company changed its name back to Widerøe's Flyveselskap A/S. In 1969, Per Bergsland replaced Viggo Widerøe as CEO. In 1970, the company was split in two: the aerial photography division was sold to competitor Fjellanger, and the new company Fjellanger Widerøe was created. Scheduled services remained with Widerøe. The airline's last seaplane was decommissioned in 1971. In April 1980, Widerøe started an international service on behalf of SAS. During the 1990s, Widerøe replaced all its aircraft with Dash 8 aircraft; in the 2000s it was bought by the SAS Group and took over SAS Commuter's operations in northern Norway. In 2010, Widerøe took over regional SAS services in western Norway. In 2013, SAS Group sold 80% of the shares to WF Holding, an investment company controlled by Torghatten ASA, and in June 2016 the remaining 20% of the shares were also transferred to WF Holding, ending SAS ownership of Widerøe, albeit still as a close regional partner of SAS. In July 2023,
Norwegian Air Shuttle Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...
announced a deal to acquire Widerøe for (), which was finalised in January 2024.
Public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...
services to regional airports make up slightly less than half of Widerøe's operations. The remaining services are to primary airports in northern Norway, and services from
Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...
and
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
to other primary airports, and some international services from
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Sandefjord,
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...
,
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
,
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
, and
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
. Widerøe's operations are focused on
point-to-point transit Point-to-point transit is a transportation system in which a plane, bus, or train travels directly to a destination, rather than going through a central Transport hub, hub. This differs from the spoke-hub distribution paradigm in which the transp ...
, although the airline essentially feeds medium-haul and international airlines. Widerøe has
interlining Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreemen ...
agreements and participates in EuroBonus for international flights.


Destinations

Widerøe has been awarded public service obligation contracts by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to connect regional airports to primary airports. Twenty-five such airports were served in a contract running from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2012, with the company having lost the bid for services to three. The services connect smaller communities and towns to regional centers and to primary airports that provide onwards service with
jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by one or more jet engines. Whereas the engines in Propeller (aircraft), propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much ...
. Eight airports in
Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...
county and one in
Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...
county are connected to Tromsø Airport, with a limited number of services also connecting to two of the three primary airports in Finnmark— Alta and
Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...
. Between Tromsø and Bodø, Widerøe serves six airports, of which two connect to Tromsø and all to Bodø. South of Bodø, there are six airports in
Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...
and
Namdalen Namdalen () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Namsos Municipality, Namsos, Grong Municipality, Grong, Overhalla Municipality, Overhalla, Røyrvik Municipality, Røyr ...
, which are all connected to Bodø and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. In Sogn og Fjordane and
Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...
, Widerøe connects four airports to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and Bergen Airport, Flesland. Widerøe's main domestic hauling between primary airports is from its base at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Services are provided up to five times per day to Trondheim, Stavanger and Bergen, as well as seasonal services to Bodø and Tromsø. In Northern Norway, Widerøe operates some services connecting primary airports, including the links from Tromsø to Alta, Hammerfest, Kirkenes and Vadsø Airport, and connecting Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes to Tromsø, Bodø and Trondheim. International services are provided to and from five Norwegian airports to seven foreign airports in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom. From Sandefjord and Trondheim, Widerøe connects to Scandinavian Airlines' hub at
Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...
. From Oslo, Widerøe operates four daily services to Göteborg Landvetter Airport, as well as summer routes to Visby Airport and Bornholm Airport. From Bergen and Stavanger, Widerøe serves Aberdeen Airport. From Bergen Widerøe fly to
Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are oper ...
and London Heathrow and from Stavanger; Newcastle Airport. In 2010, Widerøe took over the regional routes previously operated by SAS in Western Norway; these connect
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...
and Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget to Stavanger and Bergen, and
Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...
and
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
to Bergen. These routes will replace the SAS Fokker 50 aircraft with -300 and Q400 aircraft. In 2016 the airline was awarded a five-year contract by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications to operate 13 of Norway's
Public Service Obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...
routes and started operating the routes in April 2017.


Codeshare agreements

Widerøe has codeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of May 2025): *
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
* DAT *
Finnair Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
* KLM *
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...


Fleet


Current fleet

, Widerøe operates the following aircraft:


Fleet development

Between 2000 and 2018, the airline operated exclusively de Havilland Canada/ Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. As of 2018, Widerøe was the world's largest operator of the Dash series, after Piedmont Airlines retired their fleet. As of 2013, Widerøe is the first and only airline in the world to operate every single variant of the Dash 8 simultaneously, and is one of the few airlines to ever operate all variants of the Dash 8, as well as the older DHC-6 Twin Otter and Dash 7. In January 2017, Widerøe announced it had signed a contract with Embraer for up to 15 new Embraer 190-E2 jets, with firm orders for three E190-E2 aircraft and purchase rights on 12 more jets from the Embraer E2 family. The airline is the first operator of the E190-E2 aircraft. The aircraft is Widerøe's first jet aircraft, after previously operating an all-turboprop fleet. In April 2018, Wideroe received its first Embraer 190-E2. The delivery was the first E2 aircraft to be delivered to an airline. It was handed over to Wideroe by Embraer in a large ceremony, with both Embraer and Wideroe staff as well as media present. Its first revenue flight occurred on 24 April 2018. The Dash 8-100, Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 can operate on the many short runway airports in Norway, on which Widerøe is the main operator. Widerøe was the launch customer of Dash 8-100 extended service program. The program extends the economic life of the turboprop by 100% to 160,000 flight cycles. Widerøe plans to replace most of its Dash-8 aircraft by 2030.


Service

EuroBonus frequent flyer points can be earned on all international routes and certain commercial domestic routes. Points can be redeemed on international routes and domestic routes not part of the public service obligation.


Incidents and accidents

* On 5 March 1964, a Douglas DC-3 caught fire before
takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...
at Oslo Airport, Fornebu. All 18 occupants survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On 28 March 1968, an Otter seaplane crashed at Rossfjordstraumen. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was written off. * On 11 March 1982, Widerøe Flight 933, operated by a Twin Otter registered LN-BNK, crashed into the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
near
Gamvik Gamvik or Gamvika may refer to: Places * Gamvik Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway * Gamvik (village), a village in Gamvik Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway * Gamvik Church, a church in Gamvik Municipality in Finnmark cou ...
, en route from
Berlevåg Airport Berlevåg Airport (; ) is a regional airport serving Berlevåg Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The airport is situated northwest of the village of Berlevåg (village), Berlevåg and is owned and operated by Avinor. The airport tower is ...
to Mehamn Airport. All investigations have concluded that the crash resulted from the structural failure of the aircraft's tail caused by severe
clear-air turbulence In meteorology, clear-air turbulence (CAT) is the turbulence, turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual clues such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet. The atmospheric region mos ...
. However, there has been significant controversy surrounding this, as claims have been made that the aircraft collided with a
Harrier jump jet The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after the bird of prey, it was originally developed by British ...
of the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
flying outside its designated operations area during a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
exercise. * On 6 May 1988, Widerøe Flight 710, operated by a Dash 7, crashed near Brønnøysund, killing all 36 passengers on board in the worst-ever Dash 7 accident. The accident occurred when the aircraft, on approach from Namsos Airport, descended from 1500 ft to 550 ft too early in the landing procedure, colliding with the mountain Torghatten. * On 12 April 1990, Widerøe Flight 839, operated by a Twin Otter, crashed into the sea one minute after take-off from Værøy Airport, killing all five on board. The crash was caused by strong and unpredictable wind gusts during take-off, which had exceeded the aircraft's structural limits and created a break-up of its rudder, rendering it uncontrollable. The airport was closed down after the accident and replaced by Værøy Heliport. * On 27 October 1993,
Widerøe Flight 744 Widerøe Flight 744, also known as the Namsos Accident (), was a scheduled flight of Widerøe, Widerøes Flyveselskap from Trondheim Airport, Værnes, via Namsos, to Rørvik Airport, Ryumsjøen, Norway. On 27 October 1993, the de Havilland Can ...
, operated by a Twin Otter, crashed while approaching
Namsos Airport, Høknesøra Namsos Airport (; ) is a regional airport located at Høknesøra along the Namsen river, just outside the town of Namsos in Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The airport is served with Dash 8 aircraft from Widerøe on public ...
en route from
Trondheim Airport, Værnes Trondheim Airport (; ), more commonly known as Værnes, is an international airport serving Trondheim (city), Trondheim and the surrounding areas in Trøndelag county, Norway. The airport is located in Værnes, Trøndelag, Værnes, a village i ...
, killing the crew and 4 passengers. Having descended from , the aircraft was supposed to stabilize at an altitude of but instead continued to descend, until it crashed into a ridge from the airport. * On 14 June 2001, the starboard main undercarriage of a Dash 8-100 aircraft collapsed on landing at Båtsfjord Airport after a flight from Alta Airport, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft. No injuries were reported to the three crew and 24 passengers on board. The aircraft, LN-WIS, was written off. * On 1 May 2005, a Dash 8-100 registered LN-WIK made a hard landing at Hammerfest Airport. Just before landing the wind speed veered and increased, creating a tailwind. The increase in the descent rate was compensated but was insufficient, and the aircraft touched down on the right main landing gear, with the leg failing and the aircraft sliding on its belly. The aircraft was written off and Widerøe was criticized for permitting landings under high winds and gusts. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority imposed stricter wind regulations on the airport. * On 15 September 2010, Dash 8-100 LN-WIF made an emergency landing at
Sandnessjøen Airport, Stokka Sandnessjøen is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Alstahaug Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Sandnessjøen was granted special trading privileges in the late 1600s, but it did not receive town s ...
. Just before landing, the aircraft was hit by a strong gust of wind and the starboard landing gear collapsed upon landing. There were 3 passengers and 4 crew aboard, all were evacuated safely. * On 7 December 2017, Dash 8-100 LN-WID crashed into a towing truck during a storm at
Bodø Airport Bodø Airport is a civil airport in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the Bodø peninsula, it shares facilities with the military air force base ...
. Just after landing, the aircraft requested a towing truck to tow them to the gate due to heavy wind and slippery surface. The truck was taken by the wind and hit the propeller. There were no injuries amongst the passengers and crew.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wideroe Airlines of Norway European Regions Airline Association SAS Group members Airlines established in 1934 Companies based in Bodø Former seaplane operators Norwegian companies established in 1934 2024 mergers and acquisitions