Norway’s Sundt Air is enjoying continued growth with the addition of a Challenger 604 to its charter fleet. “We saw there was a market for this size aircraft in Norway and currently, to our knowledge, this is the only one available – although there are a few in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

“In general the flights it makes will be over five hours, including a number to the States, Africa and the Far East,” said Tor Bratli, Sundt Air's president.

Since delivery last month the eleven-seat 604 has flown around 70 hours on ad-hoc charters out of its base at Oslo International Airport. “The response from customers – who primarily work at large corporate companies – has been much better than we thought.

“Over the last ten years, we’ve seen an increase in the business aviation market of around ten per cent

every year.

“This is because the economy in Norway has been very stable and people are now becoming a lot more used to using jets,” said Bratli.

Oslo’s main airport was built around two years ago. Bratli explained: “We have a vip lounge, 3,200-square-metre hangar, 1,800-square-metre office facilities and a maintenance facility, so we are building up a little centre here.

There are also other aircraft in our hangars, not registered to us, such as a BBJ and a 601.”

Sundt Air is expanding in other areas with the joint purchase of a brand new Excel, which will be based in Reykjavik. Expected in August, the aircraft will fly ad-hoc charters as well as fulfilling regular contracts in Iceland. Bratli claims that this will be the first jet in service in Iceland.

In total Sundt Air owns four Citation IIIs and a Beech King Air along with these latest purchases. “The market is there for larger jets, and I think management will also be an important area for us to continue in,” he added.