Earning money on aviation 

AVIATION: Danish Air Transport has found some niches which, according to ordinary traffic analyses, ought to be impossible. But the target groups are clearly defined. They are oil people, ski tourists and business executives who want to get close to their destination.

Small airlines do what large airlines can’t 

On the face of it, oil production and skiing have very little in common. They are nonetheless the two activities which are helping to make the small airline Danish Air Transport (DAT) into something of a rarity in the aviation industry. While the vast majority of large and well-known airlines continue to be saddled with giant losses following increases in oil prices and terrorist action, DAT’s profits are soaring as they have done almost unceasingly since 1989, when Jesper Rungholm turned his passion for flying into a profession.

DAT has found a niche in North Sea oil production, simply by satisfying the air transport needs of oil people to move between what are junctions to them, but which from a traffic analysis point of view, would not form the basis for an air route.

“We also make a good living from the Danes’ passion for winter skiing,” says sales and operational manager Ole Christiansen. “Firstly by flying them to ski resorts in Austria, Italy and France. And secondly by flying home the unlucky minority who break arms and legs during their holiday. From February to April we are fully booked, including our air ambulance service which skiers have dubbed the Bone Express.”

Danish Air Transport is also well known in Norway where the company operates routes between Oslo and Norway’s most westerly town Florø, as well as Florø-Bergen and Florø- Billund. From Bergen and Stavanger there are also flights to the Danish port Esbjerg, and to Denmark’s second largest international airport, Billund. The route net also includes Copenhagen-Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland. This is the only route to Kaliningrad from Northern Europe.

Sales and operational manager Ole Christiansen

“Our strength is clearly flexibility and response time,” says Ole Christiansen. “Usually it takes no longer than 90 minutes to make an aircraft operational for transporting up to seven tonnes. And for passenger transport, it only takes a few minutes more. In addition, we are ready 24 hours per day. If a shipping company for example is missing a vital machine part on the other side of the world, it is no use if our office was only open from 9 to 5.” 

DAT’s fleet consists of two ATR 72-200s, seven ATR-42- 300/320s and three Beech 1900 aircraft. The airline also operates dry and wet lease.

“It’s a fleet that fits perfectly to fast and individual flight tasks where we are able to bring passengers or freight as close to the target as possible. While there exist around 800 airports in Europe which are served by the usual airlines, we have access to more than 3,000 small airports. That means saved time and saved money.

“Our small organisation makes it possible to earn money,” says Christiansen. “As little administration as possible, and then again there’s the response time. Our aircraft have to be in the air, which is after all where they earn money. An aircraft on the ground is an opportunity wasted.”

http://www.dat.dk