Kato Airline
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| Founded | 16 February 1995 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1 September 2008 | ||||||
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| Fleet size | 4 (2008) | ||||||
| Destinations | 2 (2008) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Evenes | ||||||
| Key people | Karl Johan Karlsen (owner, chair) Torlaug Karlsen (owner, CEO) |
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| Website | http://www.katoair.no | ||||||
Kato Airline AS, trading as Kato Air, was an airline which operated in Northern Norway between 1995 and 2008. Although also operating some smaller aircraft, the main portion of the airline's fleet were two Dornier Do 228. The airline was based at the grounds of Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes in Evenes.
Commercial operations began in 1996. An early contract was fling newspapers out of Harstad. During 1999 the airline took delivery of two Do 228s and started a scheduled service from Harstad/Narvik to Bodø and Tromsø. The route was not viable and closed later that year. In the process Kato Air took over the fixed-wing operations of Helitrans and set up a base at Trondheim Airport, Værnes. Instead the airline focused on charter to oil companies, particularly flying charters from Trondheim to Brønnøysund.
The airline won the public service obligations from Bodø to Røst and to Narvik Airport, Framnes in 2003. Later the year they also won a major contract with Norway Post. The airline suffered two serious incidents. A Do 228 crashed and was written off after a lightning strike on 4 December 2003. A scheduled service was hijacked on 29 September 2004. The Brønnøysund, Framnes and newspaper routes were all lost in 2006, after which the company fell into financial difficulties. The maintenance certificate was withdrawn on 28 August 2008 and the airline ceased operations on 1 September.
Kato Air was incorporated on 16 February 1995. However, not until 21 February 1996 did it receive an air operator's certificate for general aviation. In the intermediate period the airline cooperated with another airline. The airline established a base at Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, as the first airline to be based at the airport. The company was founded and owned by Karl Johan Karlsen, acting as chairman, and his wife Torlaug Karlsen, the managing director. "Kato" is derived from the first two letters from their respective first names. The fleet started off with a Piper PA-31 Chieftain and a Cessna 172 in 1995. The following year the airline bought a Maule M-5 and a Cessna 208 was procured in 1997.
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