Teddy Air
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Teddy Air AS was 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 ...
, based at
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen Skien Airport, 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. The runway is and numbered 01 ...
, in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. Operating between 1989 and 2004, the company operated
Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...
,
Embraer 110 The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max Holste; it had been designed in li ...
and
Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...
aircraft. The company started by providing a scheduled service between Skien and
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 ...
in 1990, followed by services to
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 ...
in 1993 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 ...
in 1994. In 1996, it won a contract with the
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
from Oslo to
Fagernes is a town in Nord-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the largest urban/commercial centre for the Valdres region. It is located just northwest of the village of ...
. It was involved in intense competition with other regional airlines, notably Coast Air and Guard Air, following the deregulation of the aviation market. It also had a single international service to
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, and from 1999 it served
Stord Airport, Sørstokken Stord Airport (; ) is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Located from Leirvik and on the island of Stord (island), Stord, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnho ...
. From 1999, the company was transformed to a virtual airline, which
wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide ...
d aircraft from Golden Air. The company ceased operations in 2004.


History


Establishment

In April 1988, Norwegian
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 ...
Norving Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At its peak, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft. History Varangfly was founded on 24 July 1959 ...
terminated all scheduled services in Southern Norway. As a consequence, airports such as
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen Skien Airport, 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. The runway is and numbered 01 ...
, were left without an airline and services to the capital,
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 ...
. Teddy Air was subsequently established as a
Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...
-based company to provide an air route between Skien and
Oslo Airport, Fornebu Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at ...
. Founded by Harald Sørensen in 1989, the largest owners were Skien Business Development Fund and Telemark Business Development Fund. It would provide four round trips with a
Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...
. The company stated that it needed 8,000 passengers annually to cover costs, with the ticket price set at about 500
Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
(NOK). The fiercest competition would come from the
Vestfold Line The Vestfold Line () is a railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger in Norway. The line connects to the Drammen Line at the northern terminus at Drammen Station and continues as the Bratsberg Line past Skien Station. The line is excl ...
of the
Norwegian State Railways Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...
, where a train from Skien to Oslo ran each hour. The three-hour train trip cost NOK 167, compared to the 25-minute flight.
Concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
was granted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in August 1989, but the airline did not commence operations until 18 July 1990. In
Grenland Grenland is a traditional district in Telemark county, in the south-east of Norway. "Grenland" has referred to varying locations throughout history. In modern times, Grenland refers to the areas of the municipalities of Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, ...
, the metropolitan area surrounding Skien, there was a lot of opposition to the airline, and several local businesspeople claimed that it would be better if
Norsk Air 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 Airport, Bergen Airport, Trondheim Airport, and Copenhagen Airport, and for shorter p ...
was awarded the contract, or Skien Airport was closed and locals instead used the nearby
Sandefjord Airport, Torp Sandefjord Airport, Torp (; ) is a minor international airport located northeast of Sandefjord and south of Oslo in Norway. The airport features a runway aligned 18/36. Torp partially serves as a regional airport for Vestfold and in part as a ...
. Norsk Air stated that it would not be possible for them to make money on the Skien–Oslo route; despite that, it operated from Skien to
Bergen Airport, Flesland Bergen Airport (; ), 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 second-busiest airport i ...
and
Stavanger Airport, Sola Stavanger Airport (; ), commonly known simply as Sola, is an international airport located in Rogaland county, Norway. The airport is located southwest of the centre of the city of Stavanger inside the neighboring municipality of Sola an ...
. In 1993, Norsk Air announced that it would no longer fly from Skien, and would focus all their operations at Sandefjord. Teddy Air subsequently took over the Stavanger route, while the Bergen route was granted to
Air Stord Air Stord A/S was an airline which operated between 1990 and 1999. Based at Stord Airport, Sørstokken, it operated a fleet of Beechcraft Super King Air and later Dornier 328 aircraft. The airline was established as Nye Partnair A/S in January 1 ...
, despite Teddy Air having applied for the concession. In 1994, the company had a revenue of NOK 7.5 million, and a NOK 1 million profit.


Expansion

Following the deregulation of the airline market in 1994, which allowed any
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
-airline to operate any route they wished, Teddy Air tried to start services at Moss Airport, Rygge. Since it at the time was the military-only
Rygge Air Station Rygge Air Force Base () is located in the municipalities of Moss and Råde in Østfold county, Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) operates various squadrons and aircraft at the airbase, including AgustaWestland AW101 ''SAR Queen'' an ...
, with no passenger facilities, the airline was not successful in receiving permission. However, it did choose to start competing with Air Stord on the Skien–Bergen route, starting 8 May 1995. Using its
Embraer 110 The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max Holste; it had been designed in li ...
aircraft, it launched tickets for under NOK 1000, compared with the NOK 1290 price offered by Air Stord. The latter had aircraft half the size, but offered 31 flights per week, compared to the 16 offered by Teddy Air. In addition, Coast Air launched two weekly round trips. The routes were mainly used by commuters working on offshore oil platforms in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. By 1995, 60 percent of the airline had been bought by Hermann Løvenskiold. In 1996, the company won the first
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 ...
tender that was issued by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Starting 1 August, Teddy Air started serving
Fagernes Airport, Leirin Fagernes Airport, Leirin (; ) is a general aviation airport in Fagernes, in the Municipalities of Norway, municipality of Nord-Aurdal, Innlandet county, Norway. It has been an airport for passenger flights, serving Fagernes and the surrounding va ...
, with routes to Oslo and Bergen. The contract gave a subsidy of NOK 23.7 million for three years, and was 15 percent lower than what Coast Air had been receiving. On 20 May 1997, Teddy Air started its first international route, from Stavanger to
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
in Sweden. After the 1998 opening of
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 ...
, which is located north of Oslo, both Teddy Air and Guard Air announced they would start routes to the new airport. Both established six daily round trips—Teddy Air using an Embraer 110 and Guard Air using a
Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. 245 were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics ...
. The new airport would make driving to the Oslo Airport about an hour longer from Grenland, and both airlines hoped to create a feeder service. Teddy Air withdrew from the route after one month, after having lost more than NOK 1 million. In February 1999, Air Stord filed for bankruptcy. On 21 February, Teddy Air launched a route between
Stord Airport, Sørstokken Stord Airport (; ) is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Located from Leirvik and on the island of Stord (island), Stord, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnho ...
, and Oslo, using
Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...
aircraft. This allowed four daily round trips during the week, and two on Sundays. Other airlines saw the route as attractive, and Coast Air launched eight daily round trips between the two airports. Teddy Air was soon forced to withdraw from the route, after it was unable to make any profits from it. The Fagernes routes were lost from 1 August 1999, when the contract was won by
Widerøe Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer 1 ...
.


Virtual airline

Following the steep decline in routes, the company was reorganized into a virtual airline in 1999. All operations were taken over by the Swedish airline Golden Air, who would operate the Saab 340 aircraft. At the same time, Golden Air bought half of Teddy Air. In October, Coast Air announced that they had too few aircraft to continue flying from Stord, and would terminate operations. Teddy Air became the only airline to serve Stord. 1999 returned a loss of NOK 6.9 million. In 2004, Teddy Air terminated all services. The contract with Golden Air was discontinued, and the hangar at Geiteryggen was sold. The company remained on paper until 2005, when the equity was gone and the entity was dissolved.


Destinations

The following is a list of destinations served by Teddy Air:


References

{{good article Defunct airlines of Norway Airlines established in 1989 Airlines disestablished in 2004 Companies based in Skien Norwegian companies established in 1989 2004 disestablishments in Norway