Coast Aero Center
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| Founded | 1975 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1988 | ||||||
| Focus cities | Haugesund Airport, Karmøy | ||||||
| Headquarters | Karmøy, Norway | ||||||
| Key people | Asbjørn Utne (owner) | ||||||
Coast Aero Center A/S was a regional airline based Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Karmøy, Norway. It had only small-plane operations and mechanical services until 1984, when it acquired concessions to operate at the new Stord Airport, Sørstokken, Geilo Airport, Dagali, and eventually from Haugesund to Aberdeen. It soon turned out that the company was not profitable and it filed for bankruptcy in 1988. The estate continued on as Coast Air.
Coast Air was founded in 1975, the same year as Haugesund Airport, Karmøy. It was one of two initially general aviation companies established with the opening of the airport, the other being Nordsjøfly. Coast Aero Center first operated a seaplane out of the harbor at the airport. Its early fleet consisted of a Cessna 207 and two Cessna 206.
From 1981 the airline operated a Piper PA-31 Navajo and the following year it bought a Piper PA-34 Seneca. The company remained a local mechanical and small-plane operator until 1984, when it started to apply for concessions to perform regional airline services in Norway. The company was owned and run by Asbjørn Utne.
Following the 1984 decision of Scandinavian Airlines System to discontinue their route from Haugesund to Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, Coast Aero Center applied for the concession the route, hoping to use a 15-seat Embraer Bandeirante that would be bought used for NOK 7.5 million. The service would have a morning flight from Haugesund, with return in the evening. While SAS had stated that they were not interested in the route, in November 1985 they altered course and executed their preferential right to start the route themselves. However, in April 1986, SAS announced that they would not operate the route anyway. Following this, Coast Aero Center commenced the service on 20 August. It proved unprofitable and was terminated in April 1987.
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