Partnair

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title: "Partnair" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["partnair", "defunct-airlines-of-norway", "airlines-established-in-1971", "airlines-disestablished-in-1989", "norwegian-companies-established-in-1971", "1989-disestablishments-in-norway"] description: "Defunct Norwegian airline" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnair" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Defunct Norwegian airline ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox airline"]

Field	Value
logo_size	230
airline	Partnair
founded
ceased
IATA	PD
ICAO	PAR
callsign	PARTNAIR
headquarters	Fornebu, Bærum Municipality, Norway
bases	Oslo Airport, Fornebu
fleet_size	32 (throughout the airlines history)
::

| logo = | logo_size = 230 | airline = Partnair | founded = | ceased = | IATA = PD | ICAO = PAR | callsign = PARTNAIR | parent = | headquarters = Fornebu, Bærum Municipality, Norway | key_people = | bases = Oslo Airport, Fornebu | fleet_size = 32 (throughout the airlines history) | destinations = | website =

Partnair A/S was a Norwegian charter airline which operated from 1971 to 1989. During the later 1980s it was Norway's fifth-largest airline by revenue, operating a fleet of three Convair CV-580 and six Beechcraft Super King Air. The airline was based at Oslo Airport, Fornebu, as well as operating a base at Stavanger Airport, Sola.

The airline was established as Paralift in 1968 to allow a group of friends to operate a Cessna 182 for parachuting. The company went commercial in 1971 and acquired four Cessna twin-props by 1975. The airline focused on business charters. During the late 1970s the fleet was replaced with Piper PA-31 Navajos. The Partnair name was adopted in the mid 1970s. The first of what eventually became eight Beechcraft King Air and the later Super models was bought in 1978. Partnair briefly operated two Cessna 550 Citation II corporate jets in 1983.

The airline merged with Nor-Fly Charter in 1984, acquiring two Convair 580s. A third was added in 1986. It built a new hangar and office complex in 1985. The only spell of scheduled traffic, out of Notodden Airport, Tuven, took place between 1985 and 1986. The company went into a period with severe financial difficulties and went bankrupt in 1987, but soon revived. The crash of Partnair Flight 394 on 8 September 1989 was the final blow for the company, which filed for bankruptcy on 11 October. Operations were restarted in what became Air Stord.

History

Paralift

The airline has its background in a group of parachuters who in 1968 established Paralift Air Service. The intention was to establish a company to own and operate an aircraft so they did not have to rent an aircraft each time they were parachuting. It took delivery of a Cessna 180 in February 1969, which it kept until August that year. It then took over a Cessna 182. These aircraft were both tailored as parachute-only aircraft.

The company was incorporated on 30 June 1971 and received a commercial air operator's certificate in the fall. The aircraft was kept until 1973.

Until the 1975 retirement of the Cessna 182,

Paralift operated out of Oslo Airport, Fornebu. It subcontracted maintenance to Fred. Olsen Airtransport and catering to Scandinavian Airlines System. The Cessna 310 was replaced with a Cessna 402 in 1975. and had also bought a Piper PA-31T Cheyenne and a Cessna 404 Titan.

Partnair operations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Partnair_Beech_200_Super.jpg" caption="Partnair [[Beechcraft Super King Air]] at [[EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg]] in 1986"] ::

Sometime between 1975 and 1977 the airline changed its name to Partnair. It saw increased business particularly from the booming oil industry. By 1977 the airline was the second-largest light twin-prop operator in the country. The airline flew 5,200 hours with its five aircraft in 1978. The Cheyenne was retired in 1980, replaced by a new Cheyenne a year later which remained in use until 1985.

The first Beechcraft King Air 100 was delivered in 1978, followed by a second in 1980. That year Partnair also took delivery of its first Beechcraft Super King Air 200. The airline gradually ordered more of these until operating six Super King Airs. However, the order was canceled before delivery. Instead, Partnair took delivery of two used Cessna 550 Citation II corporate jets, but these were retired within a year. Partnair started using simulators to train their pilots from 1982.

The shipping company Tenvig bought the airline in 1983. In the following three years, they invested 43 million kroner in the company. From 15 May 1984 the former military terminal at Fornebu was converted into an executive terminal, named Terminal 2. In addition to Partnair moving its flights there, it signed a two-year contract to operate the terminal on behalf of the Civil Aviation Administration.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Partnair_Convair_580_side.jpg" caption="Partnair [[Convair CV-580]] at [[EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg]] in 1987"] ::

Partnair bought Nor-Fly Charter in September 1984. Nor-Fly operated two Convair CV-580s. Partnair used the aircraft to fly domestic charter for oil companies, mostly to Andøya Airport, Andenes, as well as larger corporate groups internationally. Nor-Fly had bought the two aircraft in 1980 and 1981, respectively; one was based at Fornebu and the other at Stavanger Airport, Sola. With the merger, Partnair relocated both aircraft to Stavanger. Maintenance on the Convairs was subcontracted to Fred. Olsen Airtransport.

A new hangar and office building was completed at Oslo Airport, Fornebu in May 1985, having cost 15 million Norwegian kroner. The hangar measured 1350 m2 while there was 900 m2 of office space. At the time the airline had 75 employees. The company stated that the merger had allowed it to operate better in two separate market sizes and was able to better sustain the volatility in the air taxi market. About half the company's revenue came from each size of aircraft. In September 1985 Partnair started talks with Norving with the aim of a merger, but the talks never led to anything. A third Convair 580 was bought in May 1986.

In the second half of 1984 the airline developed plans to start scheduled traffic, and applied for concession to operate out of Sandefjord Airport, Torp to Gothenburg and Copenhagen. They also applied to operate a route from Oslo via Notodden Airport, Tuven to Stavanger. and the route was started on 15 August using Super King Air and flew twice a day, five days a week. This route was made possible after an instrument landing system was installed at the airport. The upgrades also included a new terminal. Ticket sales and check-in was managed by NSB Reisebyrå, a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Partnair_Convair_580_front.jpg" caption="Partnair [[Convair CV-580]] at [[EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg]] in 1987"] ::

After five months, Partnair had lost 1.2 million kroner on the route. On average, they were selling three or four tickets per flight to Stavanger, and one to Oslo. From March 1986, the leg from Notodden to Oslo was dropped and the service to Stavanger reduced. However, the route proved unprofitable and was eventually terminated later the same month.

The company had a deficit of 6.5 million kroner in 1986.

Parnair was one of several companies discussing a take-over of Norsk Air in 1988. The following year Partnair bought two smaller airlines, Fjellfly/Viking Air based in Kristiansand and 52 percent of Fonnafly based in Stord.

Accident and bankruptcy

Main article: Partnair Flight 394

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Partnair_CV-580_LN-PAA.jpg" caption="The [[Convair CV-580]] LN-PAA was the accident aircraft in [[Partnair Flight 394]], here at [[Aberdeen Airport]] in 1987"] ::

Partnair Flight 394 crashed in Skagerrak near Hirtshals on 8 September 1989, killing all 55 people on board. A central cause of the accident turned out to be the use of unapproved aircraft parts, specifically unapproved bolts fastening the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage. The findings spurred international attention to the issue of unapproved parts.

Immediately after the accident Partnair grounded the other two Convairs and laid off 17 of its 45 employees. The King Air fleet remained in operation. The company had a poor financial situation before the accident, which was severely aggravated with the accident. By October 1989 the airline was attempting to sell the Convairs. The company filed for bankruptcy on 11 October 1989. At the time the airline had few assets and about 15 to 20 million kroner in debt. All the aircraft were at the time leased.

The assets from Partnair were taken over by a new company, Nye Partnair A/S ("New Partnair"), which was owned by the Thorsen brothers along with Jostein Nerhus and Eirik M. Eide. Nye Partnair was incorporated in January 1990 and bought large portions of the estate in bankruptcy. This gave it an initial fleet of four Beechcraft Super King Air and one Beechcraft King Air. Nye Partnair was initially based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy, but relocated to Stord Airport, Sørstokken in May 1991 and took the name Air Stord. The airline remained in business until 19 February 1999.

Fleet

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

::data[format=table title="Partnair aircraft"]

Model	Qty	Built	First in	Last out	Ref(s)	Cessna 180	Cessna 182	Cessna 310	de Havilland Dragon Rapide	Cessna 320	Cessna 401A	Cessna 402B	Piper PA-31 Navajo	Piper PA-31T Cheyenne	Cessna 404 Titan	Piper PA-31 Chieftain	Beechcraft King Air 100	Beechcraft Super King Air 200	Cessna 550 Citation II	Convair CV-580
1	1956	1969	1969
1	1955	1969	1975
1	1964	1970	1974
1	1944	1971	1973
1	1962	1972	1975
1	1969	1972	1976
1	1970	1974	1976
6	1969	1975	1984
2	1977	1977	1985
1	1977	1978	1981
3	1979	1979	1984
2	1970	1978	1989
6	1976	1980	1989
2	1979	1983	1984
3	1953	1985	1989
::

Incidents and accidents

• On 25 September 1977, a Piper PA-31 Navajo registered as LN-PAA crashed into the sea off Oslo Airport, Fornebu. There were no fatalities, although the aircraft was written off.
• On 13 March 1987, a chartered Beechcraft King Air (LN-PAG) with six passengers crashed during landing at Stord Airport, Sørstokken, 20 metres ahead of the runway. The aircraft skidded for about 100 metres before coming to rest in a snow bank. There were no injuries.
• On 8 September 1989, Partnair Flight 394, a Convair CV-580 (LN-PAA) chartered by a Norwegian shipping company to fly from Oslo to Hamburg, crashed off the Skagerrak coast in Denmark near Hirtshals killing all 55 people on board.

References

Bibliography

References

1. (11 September 1989). "Fortsetter i tung virkelighet". [[Dagens Næringsliv]].
2. Nilsen, Petter. (11 September 2008). "Dette veteranflyet har dumpet 62000 passasjerer". [[Verdens Gang]].
3. Hagby: 300
4. Hagby: 299
5. The following year the fleet was doubled with the arrival of a [[Cessna 310]].Hagby: 287
6. (26 March 1988). "World Airline Directory – Partnair A/S". [[Flight International]].
7. (19 August 1971). "Private Flying". [[Flight International]].
8. Hagby: 120
9. (24 April 1973). "Flyr hvor som helst når som helst". [[Verdens Gang]].
10. For the business charter market the airline bought a Cessna 310 in 1970, a [[Cessna 320]] and [[Cessna 401]] in 1972.Hagby: 152
11. Hagby: 305
12. The Cessna 320 was sold in 1976 and replaced with the airline's first [[Piper PA-31 Navajo]]. Within three years Paralift was operating five such aircraft,Hagby: 270
13. Hagby: 272
14. (5 February 1977). "Light commercial and business – Partnair expands". [[Flight International]].
15. (24 March 1979). "Short finals... short finals...". [[Flight International]].
16. Hagby: 275
17. Hagby: 273
18. (18 July 1981). "Airliner market". [[Flight International]].
19. Hagby: 376
20. Hagby: 196
21. Hagby: 311
22. Guhnfeldt, Cato. (6 February 1985). "Første flysimulator for småfly i Norge". [[Aftenposten Aften]].
23. Berg, Sveinung. (13 September 1984). "Kan bli nedlagt for annen gang". [[Aftenposten]].
24. Guhnfeldt, Cato. (3 May 1984). ""Terminal 2" på Fornebu tatt i bruk: Ny terminal for småfly passasjerer". [[Aftenposten Aften]].
25. Guhnfeldt, Cato. (13 September 1984). "Partnair overtar Nor-Fly Charter". [[Aftenposten Aften]].
26. Guhnfeldt, Cato. (28 May 1985). "Flyselskapet Partnair: Inn i ny hangar på Fornebu". [[Aftenposten Aften]].
27. Hansen, Lars Ditlev. (26 September 1985). "Ikke fusjon med Partnair: Norvings tredje nei". [[Aftenposten Aften]].
28. Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Norway: 11
29. (1 March 1985). "Konsesjon på linjetaxiflyvning". [[Aftenposten]].
30. (14 August 1985). "Flyselskapet Partnair åpner torsdag regulære flyginger på".
31. Guhnfeldt, Cato. (16 August 1985). "Stor dag for Notodden igår: Helårs flyrute åpnet". [[Aftenposten]].
32. (10 January 1986). "Flyselskapet Partnair, som blant annet trafikkerer flyruta".
33. (23 January 1986). "Lite belegg på ny flyrute".
34. (7 March 1986). "Partnair fortsatt på Notodden". [[Aftenposten]].
35. (1 March 2011). "TA for 25 år siden". [[Telemarksavisa]].
36. Oftedal, Hallgeir. (13 May 1989). "Partnair inn i to nye flyselskaper". [[Dagens Næringsliv]].
37. Tjomsland: 149–150
38. Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Norway: 2
39. (31 March 1993). "Maintenance a factor in crash". [[Flight International]].
40. Bajak, Frank. (8 December 1996). "Black market of the skies – Substandard airplane parts pose risk". [[Columbus Dispatch]].
41. Hay, Trine. (19 September 1989). "Partnairansatte skal permitteres". [[Aftenposten]].
42. Fonbæk, Dag. (5 October 1989). "Partnair selger Convairfly". [[Aftenposten]].
43. (11 October 1989). "Flyselskapet Partnair konkurs".
44. Resser: 45
45. Reitan: 94
46. Resser: 47
47. Resser: 48
48. Resser: 74
49. Hagby: 142
50. Bakkeli, Tom. (14 March 1987). "Partnair i grøfta". [[Verdens Gang]].
51. Gregersen, M.; Jensen, S. & Knudson, P.J. (1995): The crash of the Partnair Convair 340/580 in the Skagerrak: identification of the deceased. ''Aviat. Space Environ. Med.'' '''66''': 158-163.

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