History
Mey-Air was established as a charter airline in 1970,[1] by shipping owner Hans Otto Meyer.[2] Based at the then secondary Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, it intended both to target the ad hoc as well as the inclusive tour charter market.[1] It initially took over two Convair CV-240 from Meyer, although these were sold in 1970 and 1971.[3][4] The airline followed up by buying eight aircraft of six different types, consisting of a Cessna 401,[5] a Cessna 402B,[4] a Cessna 421,[6] two NAMC YS-11,[7] two Beechcraft Queen Air,[8][9] and a Beechcraft King Air 100.[10] These aircraft were quickly sold,[4][6][7][8][9][10] and by the end of 1972 only the Cessna 401 was still in service.[5]
During 1970 Mey-Air operated a newspaper services out of Oslo to Copenhagen and onwards to Amsterdam and Paris. The Queenliners were used for this route.[11] The IT market was undergoing a dramatic boom during this period,[12] and in 1971[7] Mey-Air acquired two Boeing 737-200 for Mediterranean IT flights.[12] Their only later aircraft acquisition was a 1973 purchase of a Cessna 150 and a Convair CV-240.[13]
Mey-Air showed interest in 1972 in acquiring their concessions to operate the routes out of Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. Despite the bankruptcy of the incumbent, Fjellfly, Mey-Air withdrew their interest in the routes.[2] Starting in December 1972, Mey-Air started a cooperation with Falkereiser to fly Danish tourists to Norway.[14] This agreement would become a liability as Mey-Air was not paid in full and eventually became of creditor of the tour operator after it went bankrupt in 1974.[15] One of the 737s is prominently featured as the hijacked aircraft in the 1974 feature film Ransom (known in North America and some countries as The Terrorists).[16]
Following the 1973 oil crisis, Mey-Air was, similar to other IT airlines, adversely affected. Costs rose while charter rates declined, making it impossible to run with a profit.[17] Mey-Air ceased operations on 22 February 1974 and filed for bankruptcy two days later.[18]
