Bergen Air Transport on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Bergen Air Transport AS was an
Bergen Air Transport was founded in 1998 by Geir Hellsten and Håkon Lie-Nielsen, and commenced operations the following year. Initial operations consisted of charter services, using a Cessna 421B. In 2000, the company replaced this aircraft with a Cessna 421C, and started the scheduled route between Bergen and Notodden using the six-seat aircraft. In 2000, the company had eleven employees and in revenue. To begin with, it made four round trips per week, but in 2001 it chose to increase to five, after experiencing high cabin loads. It transported 1,000 passengers in 2000, and 1,500 the following year. During the summer of 2002, the company also attempted to fly from Notodden to 
A hangar was built at Bergen Airport in 2003, and at the same time the airline was certified as a mechanical aviation workshop. The following year, the Cessna 421 was replaced with a
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
based at Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport ( nn, Bergen lufthamn; ), alternatively Bergen Flesland Airport or simply Flesland Airport, is an international airport located at Flesland in the city and municipality of Bergen, Vestland, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the secon ...
in Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. In addition to charter aviation and an aviation workshop, it offered until 2017 a scheduled service between Bergen and Notodden Airport, Tuven
Notodden Airport ( no, Notodden lufthavn; ) is a municipal regional airport at Heddal in Notodden, a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The airport is mostly used for general aviation, and has extensive sailplane activity. B ...
. The airline operated two Beechcraft B200 King Air aircraft and one Cessna Citation CJ2
The Cessna CitationJet/CJ/M2 (also known as the Model 525) are a series of light business jets built by Cessna, and are part of the Citation family.
Launched in October 1989, the first flight of the Model 525 was on April 29, 1991. Federal Avi ...
. The airline was established in 1998, offering seaplane charter flights using Cessna 421
The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411.
Development
The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 196 ...
aircraft. The service to Notodden started in 2000; a Cessna 441
The Cessna 441 Conquest II is the first turboprop powered aircraft designed by Cessna, and was meant to fill the gap between their jets and piston-engined aircraft. It was developed in November 1974, with the first aircraft delivered in Septem ...
was acquired in 2003, and from 2006 the company used two Beechcraft. The company is owned by Geir Hellsten and Håkon Lie-Nielsen.
This airline is not to be confused with Bergen Air Transport (1961), which operated from approximately 1961 to 1977 with Douglas DC-3, DC-4 und DHC-2 Beaver aircraft.
__TOC__
History
Bergen Air Transport was founded in 1998 by Geir Hellsten and Håkon Lie-Nielsen, and commenced operations the following year. Initial operations consisted of charter services, using a Cessna 421B. In 2000, the company replaced this aircraft with a Cessna 421C, and started the scheduled route between Bergen and Notodden using the six-seat aircraft. In 2000, the company had eleven employees and in revenue. To begin with, it made four round trips per week, but in 2001 it chose to increase to five, after experiencing high cabin loads. It transported 1,000 passengers in 2000, and 1,500 the following year. During the summer of 2002, the company also attempted to fly from Notodden to Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
Kristiansund Airport ( no, Kristiansund lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansund, Norway. It is situated at Kvernberget on the island of Nordlandet and is the sole scheduled airport serving Nordmøre. The airport features a ...
, but was forced to give up due to lack of passengers.
A hangar was built at Bergen Airport in 2003, and at the same time the airline was certified as a mechanical aviation workshop. The following year, the Cessna 421 was replaced with a Cessna 441 Conquest II
The Cessna 441 Conquest II is the first turboprop powered aircraft designed by Cessna, and was meant to fill the gap between their jets and piston-engined aircraft. It was developed in November 1974, with the first aircraft delivered in Septe ...
. In 2006, two Beechcraft King Air were bought, and the last Cessna sold. On 20 November 2003, Notodden Airport was closed for all scheduled traffic by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority, due to a lack of safety requirements. Bergen Air Transport was forced to reroute all its aircraft to Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen ( no, Skien lufthavn, Geiteryggen; ) is a regional airport located at Geiteryggen, southwest of the city center of Skien, Norway. Owned by Skien Municipality, it was last served by Widerøe with daily flights to Bergen. ...
. Following an investment of NOK 500,000 from the airline and NOK 1.2 million from the municipality, which owns the airport, scheduled services commenced again. From 1 October 2004, NOK 250,000 was invested at Notodden Airport. Starting in October 2004, the airline also introduced security control
Security controls are safeguards or countermeasures to avoid, detect, counteract, or minimize security risks to physical property, information, computer systems, or other assets. In the field of information security, such controls protect the c ...
of all passengers at Notodden Airport. In 2005, the company had a revenue of NOK 10.3 million; this increased to NOK 20.1 million in 2006, giving a profit of NOK 2.8 million, when the airline transported 2,841 passengers.
In September 2007, the company bought a new hangar at Notodden, giving it ample space for expansion, and new arrival and departure facilities., At the same time, the airline bought its first jet, a Cessna Citation CJ2. That year saw the airline transport 3441 passengers on 552 flights on the Bergen–Notodden route. The airline ceased operation of the route in 2017 and ceased all operative services the same year.
References
External links
{{good article Defunct airlines of Norway Airlines established in 1998 Airlines disestablished in 2017 Transport companies of Vestland Companies based in Bergen Norwegian companies established in 1998 2017 disestablishments in Norway