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SUN-AIR of Scandinavia A/S, usually shortened to SUN-AIR, is a Danish
regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...
headquartered in Billund, with its main base at
Billund Airport Billund Airport ( da, Billund Lufthavn) is an airport in Denmark. Located northeast of Billund, it serves as one of the country's busiest air cargo centres, as well as a charter airline destination. Most major European airports are connected ...
. It operates scheduled services as a franchise of
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
using their name and
corporate design A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
as ''British Airways - operated by SUN-AIR of Scandinavia A/S''. The airline also offers charter flights, air taxi services, specialist aerial work and aircraft brokerage services.


History


Early years

The airline was established by Niels Sundberg and commenced operations in 1978. The company initially operated solely as an
air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...
and charter service. During 1987, the decision was taken to develop the company into a
regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...
. By 1996, the airline was conducting around 250 departures each week and carrying roughly 120,000 passengers annually; at the time, Sun-Air's fleet comprises ten 18-seat
British Aerospace Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British ...
s and two 30-seat
British Aerospace Jetstream 41 The British Aerospace Jetstream 41 is a turboprop-powered feederliner and regional airliner, designed by British Aerospace as a stretched version of the popular Jetstream 31. Intended to compete directly with 30-seat aircraft like the Embra ...
s. In 1993, Sun-Air opened its workshop at
Aarhus Airport Aarhus Airport is a civilian airport located northeast of Aarhus, Denmark. History The airfield was established in 1943 by German occupying forces in World War II and was later used as a Cold War military base for the Danish and other alli ...
. During 1993, Sun-Air acquired 10% of
Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,461 (1 January 2022)North-West Air Service; over the following years, it would purchase the company outright. Sun-Air's maintenance division largely focuses on performing extensive aircraft overhauls, commonly replacing elements such as the
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...
,
composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s, wheels and
brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Backgroun ...
s. Following the acquisition of aircraft maintenance company ScanTech (Scandinavian Aircraft Technologies A/S) in November 2014, maintenance of the company's Hawker Beechcraft aircraft was moved to the latter's facilities at Sindal Airport shortly thereafter. On 1 May 2016, ''Sun-Air Technic'' was formed by the merger of ScanTech and Sun–Air's workshops and warehouses. In 2015, Sun-Air acquired shares in Avex Technical, leading to the company cooperating with
Avex Air is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...
in the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
n market to perform aircraft maintenance and overhaul services. On 1 August 1996, Sun-Air became a franchisee of the large
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
-based airline
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
, being the first regional airline outside of the UK to commit to a franchise agreement with the airline. Starting that month, Sun-Air services would form a network linking with British Airways' own services at
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...
and
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
. Under the British Airways franchisee arrangement, all scheduled services were operated under the ''British Airways Express'' brand; this name had already been applied to other airline's services via separate arrangements, including
Brymon Airways Brymon Airways is a British former airline with its head office in the Brymon House on the property of Plymouth City Airport in Plymouth, Devon."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 24–30 March 199961 "Brymon House, Plymouth Cit ...
, CityFlyer Express,
Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline based at Glasgow Airport near Paisley, Scotland. It is the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size. In addition to its main base at Glasgow, it has hubs at Aberdeen, Edinb ...
and
Manx Airlines Manx Airlines was an English-owned, Isle of Man-based airline that existed between 1982 and 2002. Its head office was located on the grounds of Isle of Man Airport in Ballasalla, Malew. An airline of the same name existed between 1947 and 1958. ...
. In accordance with this branding, Sun-Air's scheduled flights are operated with British Airways logos being prominently displayed in their corporate design. During the late 1990s, Danish artist
Per Arnoldi Per Arnoldi (born May 25, 1941 in Copenhagen) is a Danish designer and artist. He has worked with many media, including painting, sculptures, ceramics and posters and has made designs for many companies, organisations and institutions, doing air ...
designed the tail art for the new
livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
applied to Sun-Air's fleet; the livery has since been redesigned to incorporate the
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
flag on the tailfin instead.


Developments since the 2000s

Part of the reason Sun-Air had agreed to become a franchisee was to gain a strategic partner, particularly one that would be able and willing to assist in its growth and the acquisition of larger aircraft. During the late 1990s, Sun-Air initiated a long-term plan to introduce
jet-powered Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Reaction engines operating on ...
airliners into its fleet by 2000. As a step towards this, and to help it handle increasing passenger traffic on its routes between Denmark and Britain, it acquired a pair of second-hand
British Aerospace ATP The British Aerospace ATP (Advanced Turbo-Prop) is an airliner designed and produced by British Aerospace. It was an evolution of the Hawker Siddeley HS 748, a fairly successful feederliner of the 1960s. The ATP was developed during the 1980 ...
s in late 1997. During 2001, in response to a complaint by Sun-Air, rival airlines
Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmar ...
and
Maersk Air (), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line a ...
were fined around €52 million ($44 million) for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour following an investigation by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. During 2009, it was decided to restructure Sun-Air's charter division, leading to it being rebranded as ''JoinJet''; Niels Sundberg's son, Kristoffer Sundberg, was appointed to head this subsidiary. Focusing largely on
business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...
operations, JoinJet taken steps to build an individual identity, including the adoption of a unique livery and distinct logo. It maintains a separate employee roster, which includes pilots, flight attendants, flight coordinators, and its own sales team. According to Sun-Air, the company has traditionally placed an emphasis on providing passengers with a comprehensive service; as such, all scheduled flights have included provisions for meals, drinks, and
luggage Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...
as default since 2009. The airline has been awarded multiple prizes related to its service quality, including the award of ''Best European Airline'' at the Danish Travel Awards. In April 2014, Sun-Air launched a new daily services between Billund and Zurich in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, served by its
Dornier 328Jet The Fairchild-Dornier 328JET is a commuter airliner, based upon the turboprop-powered Dornier 328, developed by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH. It would be the last Dornier-designed aircraft to reach production before ...
s. During the 2010s, Sun-Air became the biggest civil operator of the 328JET. On 25 February 2017, British Airways terminated its flights from Bremen to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
which were both operated by Sun-Air; the latter had maintained a base for these routes at
Bremen Airport Bremen Airport (German: ''Flughafen Bremen'', ) is the international airport of the city and state of Bremen in Northern Germany. It is located south of the city and handled 2.66 million passengers in 2015. It mainly features flights to Europ ...
. During 2017, Kristoffer Sundberg took over as CEO of Sun-Air while Niels Sundberg remained chairman of the board. The airline is wholly owned by Niels Sundberg and has 175 employees. Sun Air is an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance and also uses British Airways' frequent flyer program ''Executive Club''. In the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Sun-Air terminated several routes, including all services to
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
. In January 2021, the company filed for
insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-shee ...
for its German operational subsidiary ''Sun-Air of Germany'' and laid off most of its Germany based staff.aerotelegraph.com
14 January 2021


Destinations

As of September 2022, after suspending several routes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUN-AIR of Scandinavia serves or has previously served the following destinations as a
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
franchisee:


Fleet


Current fleet

As of September 2022, the SUN-AIR of Scandinavia fleet consists of the following aircraft:


Historical fleet

SUN-Air of Scandinavia has previously operated the following aircraft types:


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Air Of Scandinavia Airlines of Denmark Airlines established in 1978 Oneworld affiliate members Companies based in Billund Municipality 1978 establishments in Denmark British Airways