Sterling Airlines - History

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 Douglas DC-6B bought from Swissair, in order to better service his own package tours from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. Further DC-6Bs were acquired in 1963. 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.

Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashed near the Dubai airport on March 14, 1972, killing all 112 persons on board. The 106 passengers were returning to Denmark following a holiday in Sri Lanka. Air Disaster Database

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 Eignarhaldsfélag, 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 Eignarhaldsfélag 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-cost carrier in Europe—and only a month later Fons Eignarhaldsfélag sold the company to the FL Group. In December 2006, FL Group sold Sterling to Northern Travel Holding, a holding company owned by the three Icelandic private equity companies FL Group, Fons Eignarhaldsfélag 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.

On 29 October 2008 Sterling declared bankruptcy due to the rising fuel prices in the first half of 2008 and the Icelandic financial crisis in October that hit its major investor. The entire fleet was grounded with immediate effect.