Mey-Air Transport A/S,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Mey-Air, was a Norwegian

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

which operated from 1970 to 1974. Owned by shipping owner Hans Otto Meyer, the company flew both smaller ''ad hoc'' charter as well as

inclusive tour A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the h ...

(IT). Initially operating a varied fleet of ten

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and Military aircraft, military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacture ...

Convair CV-240 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

and

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...

, these were largely sold in 1972 to make way for two

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

. The company filed for bankruptcy following the demise of the charter market after the

1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...

History

Mey-Air was established as a charter airline in 1970, by shipping owner Hans Otto Meyer. Based at the then secondary

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...

, it intended both to target the ''ad hoc'' as well as the

charter market. It initially took over two

from Meyer, although these were sold in 1970 and 1971.Hagby: 287Hagby: 288 The airline followed up by buying eight aircraft of six different types, consisting of a

Cessna 401 Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...

,Hagby: 306 a Cessna 402B, a

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 1967 ...

,Hagby: 305 two

,Hagby: 231 two

Beechcraft Queen Air The Beechcraft Queen Air is a twin-engined light aircraft produced by Beechcraft in numerous versions from 1960 to 1978. Based upon the Twin Bonanza, with which it shared key components such as wings, engines, and tail surfaces, it had a larg ...

,Hagby: 220Hagby: 221 and a Beechcraft King Air 100.Hagby: 311 These aircraft were quickly sold, and by the end of 1972 only the Cessna 401 was still in service. During 1970 Mey-Air operated a newspaper services out of Oslo to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and onwards to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The Queenliners were used for this route. The IT market was undergoing a dramatic boom during this period, and in 1971Hagby: 231 Mey-Air acquired two Boeing 737-200 for Mediterranean IT flights. Their only later aircraft acquisition was a 1973 purchase of a

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

and a Convair CV-240.Hagby: 207 Mey-Air 737-2H5 LN-MTD

Mey-Air showed interest in 1972 in acquiring their concessions to operate the routes out of Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. Despite the bankruptcy of the incumbent,

Fjellfly Fjellfly (literally "Mountain Fly") was a Norwegian airline which operated between 1954 and 1972. The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen and served a diverse range of general aviation activities and a limited scheduled services. Maj ...

, Mey-Air withdrew their interest in the routes. Starting in December 1972, Mey-Air started a cooperation with Falkereiser to fly Danish tourists to Norway. This agreement would become a liability as Mey-Air was not paid in full and eventually became creditor of the tour operator after it went bankrupt in 1974. One of the 737s is prominently featured as the hijacked aircraft in the 1974 feature film ''

Ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

'' (known in North America and some countries as ''The Terrorists''). Following the

, Mey-Air was, similar to other IT airlines, adversely affected. Costs rose while charter rates declined, making it impossible to run with a profit. Mey-Air ceased operations on 22 February 1974 and filed for bankruptcy two days later.

Fleet

The following is a list of aircraft operated by Mey-Air. It contains the model, the accumulated number of aircraft operated (which may exceed the peak count), the year built, the year the type first entered service with the airline, and the year the last unit was retired.

References

Bibliography

* {{Portal bar, Aviation, Companies, Norway Airlines established in 1970 Airlines disestablished in 1974 Defunct airlines of Norway Norwegian companies established in 1970 1974 disestablishments in Norway Companies based in Bærum