Forbes Mutch/BILLUND, DENMARK
There is usually only one reason why an airline's management might purchase new aircraft, and that is expansion. It may be expansion of the route network, an increase in service frequency or a rise in the number of passengers. In the case of Sun-Air of Scandinavia it is a combination of all three.
In July, the Danish regional operator signed a deal with the turboprop division of British Aerospace Asset Management for the purchase of two BAe ATPs (Flight International, 2-8 July, P8). These ex-Seoul Air International aircraft are expected to be delivered to Sun-Air in September, and will be added to the airline's commercial fleet of six BAe Jetstream 31s and two Jetstream 41s. The airline is also planning to buy a third J41. According to Sun-Air's owner and chief executive, Niels Sundberg, the reason for the purchases is the increasing number of passengers using the airline's twice-daily Billund-Manchester, UK, route. The 64-seat ATPs will replace the J41s on the service and are expected to be operated with an initial load factor of 55%. "We need extra capacity, with comfort for the business passenger," says Sundberg.
Sun-Air was founded by Sundberg in 1977, and began operations as an air-taxi and charter airline. It started providing scheduled services in the early 1980s and set about establishing an extensive regional network from its hub at Aarhus in northern Denmark to destinations throughout the home country, including Copenhagen and Billund, and beyond, to Oslo and Dagali in Norway and Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden.
Linking up with BA
In August 1996, Sun-Air became the first foreign operator to join the growing list of British Airways' franchise airlines, providing feeder services to BA's UK regional and international network via the Billund-Manchester link. The move has had an invigorating impact.
"The link with BA is very important," says Sundberg. "We feel as if we have joined a big family." He says that, these days, airlines have to look at working relationships with other operators. "An airline like ours cannot grow by staying on its own," he says.
Sun-Air attempted to forge links with SAS in the late 1980s but the plans met with opposition from the pilots' unions, and left the airline looking for other European alliances. Sundberg says that there were natural synergies between Sun-Air and BA. "We felt close to BA," he says. "We are smaller, but we've proved that we work to the same concepts."
Those ideas include treating passengers in a "business-like and professional manner" and placing an emphasis on staff training. "Sun-Air does not have the resources for training, and so that is one benefit that we will gain from the tie-up with BA," says Sundberg. He also believes that the UK national airline will help Sun-Air with its product branding and give the Danish operator "global awareness".
The future looks promising, which is why Sun-Air has made the investment in new aircraft. Sundberg says that ATPs were selected ahead of other types, such as the Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) ATR 72, because, being a long-time Jetstream operator, "-we wanted to remain faithful to British Aerospace. It is very difficult to get divorced".
He is not worried about the short production run of the aircraft (in total, 64 were built) or the obsolescence of the type. "British Aerospace has promised to keep the ATP airborne until there are fewer than four flying in the world, and so parts supply is not a worry."
The choice of the ATP is a half-way measure in a long-term plan to introduce jet-powered aircraft to the Sun-Air fleet by 2000. "We are not ready for jets at the moment, because our route structure has not grown sufficiently," says Sundberg. "We looked very closely at BAe 146-class aircraft, but the price is too high for our needs. We do not see turboprops being built in the next century, so we will have to operate jets. The new turbofans will equal turboprop engines, offering high power at low altitude."
The aircraft which Sun-Air has considered include the Canadair Regional Jet, AI(R) Avro RJ85, McDonnell Douglas MD-95 and the Embraer EMB-145. "We are watching Manx to see how they get on with the 145," says Sundberg.
It is a case of watching closely, planning carefully and keeping an eye open for opportunities. Situation normal, in other words.
Source: Flight International
