Eagle Air (Iceland)
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Founded | 1970 | ||||||
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Hubs | Reykjavik Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | 6[2] | ||||||
Destinations | 3 | ||||||
Headquarters | Reykjavik Airport, Iceland | ||||||
Key people | Hörður Guðmundsson, Jónína Guðmundsdóttir | ||||||
Website | eagleair.is |
Eagle Air (Icelandic name: Flugfélagið Ernir [ˈflʏɣˌfjɛːˌlaijɪð ˈɛ(r)tnɪr̥]) is an Icelandic airline. It is based at Reykjavík Airport and offers domestic flights, charter services, and adventure tours in Iceland.
History
[edit]Eagle Air was founded in 1970 by Hörður Guðmundsson[3] and his family as a transportation and security link in the Westfjords, one of the most remote parts of Iceland. The airline's initial focus was on ambulance and mail services.[4] Propeller-driven aircraft operated by Eagle Air included the Helio Courier, Britten-Norman Islander, Piper Aztec, Piper Chieftain, Cessna Titan, de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, Cessna 206 and Cessna 185.[5] Eagle Air also had a domestic charter flight component, which moved into the international arena in the early 1980s. Eagle Air flew charters to airports in Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia and Europe.[6]
In the early 1990s, Eagle Air accepted key assignments from the International Red Cross to operate in Kenya, Sudan, Mozambique and Angola, delivering aid supplies to civil war stricken regions.[7][8]
In 1995, Eagle Air moved its headquarters from Ísafjörður to Reykjavík after most of its airmail contracts were discontinued[9][10] due to the opening of the Vestfjarðagöng tunnel.[11] It later sold off most of its airplanes and turned in its air operator's certificate (AOC) but kept one plane along with other assets.[12] The company was restarted in Reykjavík in 2003.[3] In 2006 it reapplied for an AOC took over service to destinations where Air Iceland stopped flying.[13][5] It began scheduled services to Árneshreppur, Bíldudalur, Höfn, and Sauðárkrókur, and in August 2010 to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).[14] It now flies to Höfn.
On 27 February 2018, Birna Borg Gunnarsdóttir, the granddaughter of founder Hörður Guðmundsson, became the first female pilot in the airlines history.[15]
In 2018, the airline purchased a 32-seat Dornier 328 airliner.[16]
In January 2023, The airline Mýflug, together with another investors, bought a 77.1 percent stake in Eagle Air.[17]
Destinations
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Ernir_Air_British_Aerospace_BAe-3212_Jetstream_Super_31_Goetting.jpg/220px-Ernir_Air_British_Aerospace_BAe-3212_Jetstream_Super_31_Goetting.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Eagle_Air_Iceland_Cessna_207.png/220px-Eagle_Air_Iceland_Cessna_207.png)
Current destinations
[edit]From Reykjavík Airport (RKV) to:
- Hornafjörður Airport (HFN) in Höfn
Former destinations
[edit]- Bíldudalur Airport (BIU)[18]
- Gjögur Airport (GJR)[18]
- Holt Airport (FLI)[19]
- Húsavík Airport (HZK)[20]
- Ísafjörður Airport (IFJ)
- Patreksfjörður Airport (PFJ)[19]
- Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK)
- Suðureyri Airport (SUY)[21]
- Þingeyri Airport[22]
- Vestmannaeyjar Airport (VEY)[23]
Air charter services
[edit]Ambulance flights
[edit]Eagle Air has decades of experience in ambulance flights, and flies aircraft with pressurised cabins that can fly above weather for patient comfort. Oxygen and oxygen masks are on board, and a doctor and/or medical crew can be arranged if requested.[24]
Freight
[edit]Eagle Air operates freight flights to any location in Iceland, overseas or at sea.[25]
Aerial photography
[edit]Eagle Air has aircraft which are well suited for aerial photography, livestock inventory, and other similar projects.[26]
Current fleet
[edit]Eagle Air currently operates the following aircraft:[27]
- British Aerospace Jetstream 32: TF-ORA, TF-ORC, TF-ORD- twin engine turboprop aircraft
- Cessna 207A Stationair 8: TF-ORB - single engine piston aircraft
- Dornier 328: TF-ORI - twin engine turboprop for 32 passengers
Accidents and incidents
[edit]- On 5 April 1986, an Eagle Air Piper PA-23-250 Aztec with registration TF-ORM got caught in a downdraft and crashed in Ljósufjöll in Snæfellsnes, killing four of the six people on board.[28][29][30]
- On 11 January 1987, an Eagle Air Piper Chieftain with registration TF-ORN, crashed in the ocean outside of Skutulsfjörður, in bad weather, killing the pilot.[31]
References
[edit]- ^ "Hornafjörður Airport".
- ^ "Uppfletting í loftfaraskrá". samgongustofa.is (in Icelandic). Samgöngustofa. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ a b Björn Jóhann Björnsson (5 October 2009). "Ernir hækka flugið". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 9. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Fjögur hundruð flugferðir um Djúpið á síðasta ári". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 6 July 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Flugsagan" (in Icelandic). The Icelandic Aviation Museum. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Charter flights | Eagle Air Iceland". www.eagleair.is. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "Hauki og Halla líkar vistin vel". Vestfirska fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 28 September 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ Sigurjón J. Sigurðsson (22 July 1994). "Heim úr leiguverkefnum í Angóla". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 5. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Flugfélagið Ernir flytur frá Ísafirði". Vestfirska Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 22 November 1995. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Styrkir margfaldast". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 29 June 2000. p. 4. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Flugfélagið Ernir tekur til starfa". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 June 2003. p. 11. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Hæstánægður með að vera byrjaður aftur að þjónusta Vestfirðinga". Bæjarins Besta (in Icelandic). 8 February 2007. p. 16. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Ernir semur um fjórar flugleiðir". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 3 October 2006. p. 4. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Eagle Air Launches Flights to Westman Islands". Iceland Review. 30 January 2014 [4 August 2010]. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ Birgir Olgeirsson (28 February 2018). "Birna er fyrsti kvenflugmaðurinn í tæplega 50 ára sögu Flugfélagsins Ernis". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "Flugfélagið Ernir komið með 32 sæta skrúfuþotu - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ Benedikt Arnar Þorvaldsson (2 January 2023). "Flugfélagið Mýflug kaupir hlut í flugfélaginu Erni". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ a b "In Iceland two airlines shared state subsidies for three domestic routes". Flugblogg. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- ^ a b "Lítill opinber stuðningur". Frjáls verslun (in Icelandic). 1 January 1975. p. 53. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Vilja fjölga ferðum í gegnum Loftbrú". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ "Suðureyri: Ernir hættir áætlunarflugi". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 August 1990. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Þingeyrarflugvöllur". Ísfirðingur (in Icelandic). 16 January 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 11 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ Ragnarsson, Rafn Ágúst (2024-03-24). "Flugi til Húsavíkur og Vestmannaeyja haldið áfram yfir veturinn - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ "Ernir 16 sinnum í sjúkraflug til Svíþjóðar". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 January 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Baldur Arnarson (16 March 2007). "Lög kveða ekki á um sektir vegna brota á lögum um meðferð matvæla". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Björn Jóhann Björnsson (5 October 2009). "Ernir hækka flugið". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ samgongustofa.is
- ^ "Tveir komust lífs af". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Þrýsti barninu að mér og reyndi að verja konuna mína". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 9 April 1986. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Ísing og niðurstreymi orsök flugslyssins?". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 April 1986. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Fórst með flugvél í Ísafjarðardjúpi". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 January 1987. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
External links
[edit] Media related to Eagle Air of Iceland at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in Icelandic)
- Official website (in English)