Bergen Air Transport has begun serving the west coast of Norway with air charter services, claiming to be the first dedicated charter company in that region of the country. In May, 1999, after a year awaiting JAA approval, it began operations with two seaplanes flying sight-seeing trips for tourists. In August, it registered a Cessna 421C Golden Eagle twin turboprop, which has been flying charter missions transporting corporate travellers, primarily oil company workers. \rHakon Lie-Nielsen, manger of flight operations at Bergen Air Transport, talked to EBAN about the new aircraft: "I have operated this aircraft for several years previously, and when we discussed the different types of aircraft to use when we started this company, we wanted to use something we had had experience with," he explained.\r "Also, it was a question of money. Since we financed this aeroplane ourselves, we wanted to start with a fairly small aircraft until we got a feel for the market."\rLie-Nielsen trained as a pilot in the USA, and returned to Norway in the late 1980s to earn his Norwegian licence. He set up Bergen Air Transport with a colleague because, he said, the gap in the market was made clear to him. "We were constantly being telephoned by different companies asking if we could do various types of flying for them, since no-one else offered the services they wanted. Yes its a big risk, we financed the company ourselves but we knew the market was there."