Fjellfly
| Founded | 1954 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1972 |
| Operating bases | Skien Airport, Geiteryggen |
| Fleet size | 14 (1965) |
| Destinations | 4 |
| Headquarters | Skien, Norway |
| Key people | Snorre and Reidun Kjetilsson (owners) |
Fjellfly (literally "Mountain Fly") was a Norwegian airline which operated between 1954 and 1972. The airline was based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen and diverse range of general aviation activities and a limited scheduled services. Major undertakings included deliveries of the newspaper Dagbladet, flying tourists into mountainous areas such as Hardangervidda and crop dusted forest areas. A scheduled service was introduced from Skien to Oslo Airport, Fornebu in 1963, and extended to Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Hamar Airport, Stafsberg four years later. At its peak in 1965, the airline had a fleet of fourteen aircraft.
Owned by Snorre and Reidun Kjetilson, the airline was established in 1954 in Drammen. Operation started out of Skien the following year. In addition to a range of Cessna, Piper, Fairchild and other smaller aircraft, Fjellfly operated the 10-passenger Noorduyn Norseman for most of its existence. From the mid-1960s it introduced the 16-passenger Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer on the scheduled flights, at the time the only aircraft of such a size that could land at Geiteryggen. From 1967, the airline started flying out of Vest-Telemark Airport, Fyresdal and established a pilot school at Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik. With the runway at Geiteryggen extended in 1970, the airline went over the de Havilland Heron on the scheduled services. Fjellfly filed for bankruptcy in 1972.
The airline was established by Snorre Sturla Kjetilson and his wife Reidun. Originally from Rjukan, the Snorre in Drammen when he decided to take his pilots' license. Along with an investor, Kjetilson bought a Cessna 180 from Thor Solberg in 1954 and established Drammen Flyselskap. The investor quickly lost faith in the airline and sold his share to Kjetilson. To secure sufficient business, he contacted several newspapers, and agreed to fly Dagbladet from Oslo to Grenland daily. From 1955 the airline flew from the water aerodrome at Oslo Airport, Fornebu to Herøya in Porsgrunn and onwards to Hjellevatnet in Skien. Later in the year, wheels were placed on the aircraft and it started flying to Geiteryggen. Geiteryggen became the airline's base, and the couple moved to Skien in 1957.
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