Norsk Air was a Norwegian airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. At its height from the mid-1980s and onwards it operated scheduled flights to Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Copenhagen, and for shorter periods also other Norwegian and international destinations. The airline had 156 employees and 150,000 annual passengers in 1989. The company was established as a sole proprietorship by Øyvind Skaunfelt as Vestfoldfly in 1961, after purchasing Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg. In addition to an aviation college, the company operated various charter services using mostly Cessna aircraft. The company split into a flying school and an airline in 1972, with the latter taking the name Norsk Flytjeneste. Three 50-passenger Douglas DC-6 were subsequently bought and were among other places flown with aid charters to Bangladesh. Both the DC-6 and later charter flights with business jets proved unprofitable and were quickly terminated. The company turned to regular charter services to Bergen and Stavanger in the 1980s, and from 1984 served the routes with scheduled flights, using seven-passenger Beechcraft 200 King Air. In 1985 the company was converted to a limited company and bought by Kosmos. It subsequently acquired four 30-passenger Embraer EMB 120 Brasilias—as the second European airline. It introduced several new routes, including international flights to Denmark and the United Kingdom, and took the name Norsk Air. The company bought Norving's Skien Airport, Geiteryggen division in 1987 and started operations from a second base. Kosmos failed in 1988 and Norsk Air was eventually given for free to Widerøe in 1990. Skien operations were discontinued the following year and the airline changed name to Widerøe Norsk Air. It remained a subsidiary until being amalgamated in 1996. History Vestfoldfly The airline was established as Vestfoldfly by Øyvind Skaunfelt in 1961. He had been working at Thor Solberg's aviation school at Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg, and offered to purchase the school and airplanes when Solberg retired. Two years earlier, Sandefjord Airport, Torp had opened a civilian sector and Skaunfelt decided to establish his company there. In May 1961, he received government permission for commercial flying. He started a newspaper route to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, and could also carry three passengers in his single-engined Cessna. The route continued onwards from Sandefjord to Tønsberg, Larvik and at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen. Vestfoldfly also started offering scenic trips and charter. During the summer, the airline also flew seaplanes south along the coast to Kragerø,