December, the major U. K. rotary-wing operator Bristow Helicopter, Ltd., with a 32% stake, joins with the shipping companies Leifhoegh and Andreas Ugland to establish a Norwegian joint-venture subsidiary, United Helicopter, A. S. The new entrant, under the direction of Managing Director Bjarne Sortland, will operate as Norsk Helikopter, A. S. in North Sea offshore helicopter support competition with the giant He-likopter Service, A. S. (HS) , Bristow’s principal rival. United purchases a hangar in Stavanger at year’s end, to which Bristow administrative and operational personnel, under contract, report.
During the first quarter of 1994, one each Bristow Eurocopter AS-332L Super Puma and Sikorsky S-61N are dispatched to Stavanger as the fleet of Norsk Helikopter. Unhappily, the subsidiary will be unable to win any of the major North Sea contracts awarded during much of the remainder of the year and will have to occupy itself with various heavy lift and other minor contracts.
In early fall, Norsk bids on a number of significant new oil support contracts, including a deal from Statoil worth $113 million, one worth $20 million from Saga Petroleum, and a third, for $30 million, with Norsk Hydro. All are lost to rival HS and only one small Arco support contract can be had.
In December, the Bristow subsidiary is finally able to outmaneuver HS, winning the lion’s share of two Phillips Petroleum contracts for shuttle services to and from the Ekofisk oil field in the Southern North Sea. Reportedly worth $15 million per year and with a three-year option to extend, the arrangements will require Bristow to supply four more Super Pumas early in the new year.
These duly arrive and Norsk begins the transport of workers between Stavanger and Ekofisk on September 1, 1995.
By 1998, Managing Director Sortland’s fleet includes 4 Super Pumas and several Sikorsky S-76Cs.
During the fall, Statoil, the state-owned oil company, awards Helikopter Service, A. S. a 10-year, $230.5-million contract to fly support from Bergen with a Bell 214ST beginning in March 1999, along with 3 Eurocopter Super Puma Mk. 2s, also from Bergen, starting a year later. The Phillips Petroleum shuttle contract is lost in September.
In November, Norsk takes over 40% of the Statoil contract. The terms of the $203.4- million, 5-year Norsk contract (with 5 years of options) will be for support flights from Stavanger.
Revenues for the year total Nkr 300 million (US$34.4 million).
The Norsk Helikopter fleet at the beginning of 2000 includes 3 Super Pumas (1 AS-332L1 and 2 L2s) based at Stavanger, 3 L1s at Bergen, 1 L1 at Kristiansund, 2 L1s at Hammerfest, and 1 Sikorsky S-76C+ out on the Frigg Field platform of Elf Aquitane Norge, A. S. Clients include Statoil, ExxonMobile, and Elf at Stavanger; Statoil at Bergen; Exxon-Mobile at Kristiansund; and Norsk Hydro, Agip, and Statoil at Hammerfest. Airline employment in June stands at 125, including 51 in flight operations.
NORSUR (COMPANIA ARGENTINA DE AERONAVEGACION, S. A.): Argentina (1958-1965). Norsur is formed at Buenos Aires in 1958 to offer third-level scheduled services in the northeast part of the nation. Equipped with 3 (later 8) Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars, the commuter begins operations late in the year to a variety of destinations, including Concordia, Monte Caseros, Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Posadas, Resistencio, Parana, Rosario, and Santa Fe.
The carrier is duplicating services already provided by Aerolineas Argentinas, S. A. and ALA (Aerotransportes Litoral Argentina, S. A.)
And is unable to maintain viability; it is forced to stop flying in 1965.
NORTH ADRIA AVIATION: Aeroport Vrsar, Zagreb, Croatia; Phone 052 441 350; Fax 052 442 075; Http://www. istra. net/naa; Year Founded 1990. This small operator is established at Zagreb in 1990, primarily as an air taxi and general aviation concern.
Over the next ten years, the company provides a number of services, including taxi and scheduled commuter flights, all-cargo services, panorama and sight-seeing flights, and transport for skydivers. It also operates a flight school.
The fleet at the beginning of 2000 includes 2 Yak 40s, 6 Let L-410UVPs, 3 Cessna 172s, 2 Antonov An-2 biplanes, and 1 Cessna Citation II bizjet.
NORTH AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINES, S. A.: Colisee SAULA, Es-caliers A, 4eme etage, El Manar II, Tunis, Tunisia; Phone 216 (1) 887 027; Fax 216 (1) 886 680; Code NAA; Year Founded 1993. NAA is
Set up by Adel Deghim at Tunis on April 27, 1993 to offer regional and domestic all-cargo charter services. Shareholding in the nation’s first public-private partnership enterprise is divided between Chairman Deghim and various local interests (55%) and stakeholders in the U. K. (45%).
Operational start-up is delayed until October 1995 when the concern’s 2 Antonov An-32Bs undertake flights to and from Monastit, Djerba, Tabarka, Tozeur, and Tunis and on to Europe and other North African nations. Services continue in 1996-2000.
NORTH AIR (1): United States (1968-1971). The small regional North Air is established at Anchorage, Alaska, in the summer of 1968 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo flights to Kenai and Soldotna. Revenue services commence on October 24 with Beech Volpars (modified Beech 18s) and de Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 Twin Otters. Operations continue apace until the commuter’s failure in 1971.
NORTH AIR (2): United States (1980-1981). Edward Majerie and Lloyd Gutowski set up the second North Air at Eveleth, Minnesota, in December 1980 to provide scheduled daily passenger and cargo roundtrips to Minneapolis. Although Cessna 402 flights duly begin, they cannot be maintained beyond January 1981.
NORTH AMERICAN AIR CHARTER: Li MacArthur Airport, 90 Arrival Ave., Ronkonkoma, New York 11779, United States; Phone (516) 737-4430; Fax (516) 737-2093; Http://www. naac. com; Year Founded 1993. This corporate carrier is established at Long Island’s MacArthur Airport in 1993 to provide on-demand lift for business executives in the New York City area. Revenue operations begin and continue with 1 each Grumman G-1159C Gulfstream IV and British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125-700 Hawker.
World History
