Sterling Airlines

Infobox Airline
airline=Sterling Airlines A/S
IATA=NB
ICAO=SNB
callsign=STERLING
parent=Nordic Travel Holding
founded=1962 (as Sterling Airways)
Merged with Maersk Air in 2005
headquarters=Copenhagen, Denmark
key_people=Reza Taleghani (President & CEO)
hubs=Copenhagen Airport
focus_cities=Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Billund Airport
Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport
Malmö Airport
frequent_flyer=
lounge=
alliance=
fleet_size=27
destinations=39
company_slogan="We would fly with us"
website= http://www.sterling.com

Sterling Airlines A/S is an Icelandic owned low-fare airline, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was created in September 2005 through the merger of two Danish airlines - Sterling European Airlines A/S and Maersk Air A/S - which had been bought by Icelandic investment group "Fons Eignarhaldsfelag" a few months before. One month after the merger, Sterling Airlines was sold to the FL Group. In December 2006, Sterling was sold to Nordic Travel Holding.

On 6 January 2006, Hannes Smárason, CEO of the FL Group, stated that a merger of easyJet and Sterling was a possibility.

At the end of 2005 Sterling Airlines had 1,600 staff and 29 aircraft, making it almost twice as large as Icelandair. The company flew to some European 40 destinations, with Copenhagen Airport, Oslo Gardermoen Airport and Stockholm Arlanda Airport as primary hubs.

History

"For the history of Maersk Air, see Maersk Air."

Sterling Airlines traces its history back to 1962, when Eilif Krogager, founder of Danish travel agency Tjæreborg (today part of MyTravel Group), started the charter airline Sterling Airways with two old Douglas DC-6B bought from Swissair, in order to better service his own package tours from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. In 1965 Sterling received its first Caravelle, and in 1968 the company was bought out of the Tjæreborg Group and started servicing other travel agents as well.

In 1987 the company celebrated its 25th anniversary with 19 aircraft and almost 1,300 staff, but a few years later, in 1993, Sterling Airways went bankrupt. In 1994 the estate after Sterling Airways re-created the company as Sterling European Airlines, with three aircraft and 182 staff.

In 1996 Sterling was bought by the Norwegian shipping company Fred. Olsen.

In 2000 Sterling started with regular air services to Málaga and Alicante, to compensate for the diminishing charter travel business. More routes were added in 2001, when it was also decided that Sterling should leave the charter industry and become a fully fledged low-fare airline. During 2002 Sterling opened 21 new routes, primarily between Scandinavia and Southern Europe, but also routes from Copenhagen to Oslo and Stockholm.

In 2003 Sterling expanded its fleet from six to eight aircraft and opened 11 more routes between Scandinavia and Southern Europe. Passenger numbers reached a record high of 1,3 million; a 40 % increase on 2002. In 2004 the fleet grew to 12 aircraft.

In March 2005 Fred. Olsen sold Sterling to the Icelandic investment company "Fons Eignarhaldsfelag hf", owners of the small Iceland Express airline, and the managing director of Iceland Express, Almar Örn Hilmarsson, was promoted to new managing director for Sterling. In June 2005 the "Fons Eignarhaldsfelag" bought Maersk Air from the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group and announced that they wanted to merge the two airlines under Sterling Airlines A/S. In September 2005 the merger was approved by the authorities and Sterling Airlines A/S was the only operational company - the fourth largest low-fare airline in Europe - and only a month later "Fons Eignarhaldsfelag" sold the company to the FL Group. In December 2006, FL Group sold Sterling to Nordic Travel Holding, a holding company owned by the three Icelandic private equity companies FL Group, Fons Eignarhaldsfelag and Sons.

In August 2006 Sterling adopted a Buy On Board program that allows pre-ordering and onboard purchases of duty free merchandise and meals.

In April 2007 Essential Aircraft Maintenance Services (EAMS) has been established by LD Equity 2 based on the acquisition of Sterling’s aircraft maintenance department. LD Equity 2 has, together with a new management team, acquired Sterling's aircraft maintenance activities and has established Essential Aircraft Maintenance Services A/S.

Destinations

Fleet

The Sterling Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of 29 September 2008)da icon cite web
title = Søg på tekniske data
publisher = Civil Aviation Administration of Denmark
url = http://dcaa.slv.dk/natregister/index.php?phplens_natreg_soeg_ny=filterview&num=10&lens_F0_max=5&lens_F0_Exact=1&lens_F1=&lens_F2=&lens_F3=&lens_F4=&lens_F5=&lens_F6=&lens_F8=&lens_F7=sterling&lens_F9=&_match_natreg_soeg_ny=2&PHPLENS_Filter=S%F8g&_urlParams_=LeNs#LensBM_natreg_soeg_ny
accessdate = 2008-05-24 ] :

References

External links

* [http://www.sterlingflights.co.uk/ Sterling Airlines]
* [http://www.sterling-magazine.com Sterling Magazine inflight magazine]

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