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| Founded | 19 February 1934; 91 years ago (1934-02-19) | ||||||
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| Operating bases | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Norwegian Reward | ||||||
| Fleet size | 50 | ||||||
| Destinations | 56[1] | ||||||
| Parent company | Norwegian Air Shuttle | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bodø,Norway | ||||||
| Key people | Tore Jenssen (CEO)[2] | ||||||
| Founder | Viggo Widerøe | ||||||
| Employees | 3500 | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading asWiderøe, is aNorwegianregional airline, and the largest regional airline operating in theNordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as threeEmbraer 190-E2 aircraft, serving 49 domestic and internationaldestinations. Widerøe has a turnover of 3.5 billion kr; carries 2.8 million annual passengers; has 3,500 employees and performs 450 take-offs and landings each day.[3]
The company's head offices are inBodø, although it retains a large administrative center inOslo and a smaller office inMosjøen.[4] The main bases are Sandefjord,Bodø,Tromsø, Bergen, and Oslo. Widerøe also has a technical base inFlorø.
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The airline was established in 1934 byViggo Widerøe, a Norwegian aviator, and was engaged in variousgeneral aviation activities in its early days. In 1936, Widerøe started scheduled seaplane flights and, from 1940, also ambulance flights. During the 1940s and 1950s, the airline increased its seaplane routes and established a fleet based onde Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter andNoorduyn Norseman aircraft. From 1968, Widerøe started flying toSTOLports in northern and western Norway usingDHC-6 Twin Otters, and later also withDash 7 aircraft. In 1989, Widerøe boughtNorsk Air and started services fromSandefjord.
Widerøe was established on the foundations of two small aircraft operators. The first was the companyLotsberg & Skappel. The other wasWiderøe & Bjørneby, which was founded byViggo Widerøe and Halvor Bjørneby. During the winter, they stationed aircraft at mountain resorts and made revenue from flying skiers into the wilderness. Aerial advertising flights were introduced, in which a company or product name was painted on an aircraft's fuselage, with a neon-light version underneath, and leaflets dropped mid-flight.[5]
On 19 February 1934,Widerøe's Flyveselskap A/S was founded by Viggo Widerøe, Einar Isdahl, and Arild Widerøe. In 1935, the company started in the cartography business. In 1937, the company made 44 flights along the coast ofAntarctica, covering 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) of coast at least 50 kilometres (31 mi) inland. These flights were ordered byLars Christensen for cartography. During 1938, the company's Bogstad workshop andBirger Hønningstad started a joint venture in which Widerøe builtHønningstad Norge aircraft.
Following the outbreak ofWorld War II, all pilots were conscripted into the military and there was a ban on civilian aviation. In 1940, the company startedair ambulance flights for the military. Following theGerman invasion of Norway, many of Widerøe's pilots and aircraft were flown to Mjøsa where they served as part ofthe defence. All civilian aircraft were grounded duringthe occupation, and German authorities demanded that magnetos and propellers be handed in. The workshop at Bogstad was kept busy with the production of ambulance sleds for the German military. In secret, the company also started building theHønningstad C-5 Polar ambulance aircraft at Bogstad.[6]
After the liberation of Norway in 1945, there was still a flight ban, and the employees at Bogstad were hired by theRoyal Norwegian Air Force atOslo Airport, Fornebu. The company received permission to fly from 2 February 1946. In 1947,Forenede Industrier bought the majority of the company. Viggo Widerøe was again hired as managing director.[7]
In 1948, the company merged with Narvik-basedPolarfly, and changed its name toWiderøe's Flyveselskap & Polarfly A/S. The following year, the company began an aerial photography operation. In 1953, the company chose to differentiate and started production of emergency rafts; refrigerated garages in aluminium; and thermoelements for industry. In 1954, the company received a subcontract fromScandinavian Airlines System (SAS), the successor of DNL, to operate a seaplane route from Tromsø via Alta, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes to Vadsø. For this route, the company bought its firstde Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter.[8] On 1 July 1958, the company changed its name back to Widerøe's Flyveselskap A/S.
In 1969,Per Bergsland replaced Viggo Widerøe as CEO. In 1970, the company was split in two: the aerial photography division was sold to competitor Fjellanger, and the new company Fjellanger Widerøe was created. Scheduled services remained with Widerøe. The airline's last seaplane was decommissioned in 1971. In April 1980, Widerøe started an international service on behalf of SAS.
During the 1990s, Widerøe replaced all its aircraft with Dash 8 aircraft; in the 2000s it was bought by theSAS Group and took overSAS Commuter's operations in northern Norway. In 2010, Widerøe took over regional SAS services in western Norway. In 2013, SAS Group sold 80% of the shares to WF Holding, an investment company controlled byTorghatten ASA, and in June 2016 the remaining 20% of the shares were also transferred to WF Holding, ending SAS ownership of Widerøe. The airline remained a close regional partner of SAS until 2023.[9] In July 2023,Norwegian Air Shuttle announced a deal to acquire Widerøe for 1.125 billion kr (US$104 million), which was finalised in January 2024.[10][11][12]
Public service obligation services toregional airports make up slightly less than half of Widerøe's operations. The remaining services are to primary airports in northern Norway, and services fromSandefjord andBergen to other primary airports, and some international services fromOslo, Sandefjord,Kristiansand,Stavanger,Bergen, andTrondheim. Widerøe's operations are focused onpoint-to-point transit, although the airline essentially feeds medium-haul and international airlines. Widerøe hasinterlining agreements with other airlines.
Widerøe has been awarded public service obligation contracts by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to connect regional airports to primary airports. Twenty-five such airports were served in a contract running from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2012, with the company having lost the bid for services to three. The services connect smaller communities and towns to regional centers and to primary airports that provide onwards service withjet aircraft.
Eight airports inFinnmark county and one inTroms county are connected to Tromsø Airport, with a limited number of services also connecting to two of the three primary airports in Finnmark—Alta andKirkenes. Between Tromsø and Bodø, Widerøe serves six airports, of which two connect to Tromsø and all to Bodø. South of Bodø, there are six airports inHelgeland andNamdalen, which are all connected to Bodø and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. InSogn og Fjordane andSunnmøre, Widerøe connects four airports to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and Bergen Airport, Flesland.[13]
Widerøe's main domestic routes between primary airports are from its base at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Services are provided up to five times per day to Trondheim, Stavanger and Bergen, as well as seasonal services to Bodø and Tromsø. In Northern Norway, Widerøe operates some services connecting primary airports, including the links from Tromsø to Alta,Hammerfest, Kirkenes andVadsø Airport, and connectingHarstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes to Tromsø, Bodø and Trondheim.[13][14]
International services are provided to and from five Norwegian airports to seven foreign airports in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom. From Sandefjord and Trondheim, Widerøe fliesCopenhagen Airport. From Oslo, Widerøe operates four daily services toGöteborg Landvetter Airport, as well as summer routes toVisby Airport andBornholm Airport. From Bergen and Stavanger, Widerøe servesAberdeen Airport. From Bergen Widerøe flies toLiverpool John Lennon Airport and London Heathrow and from Stavanger;Newcastle Airport.[13]
In 2010, Widerøe took over regional routes previously operated by SAS in Western Norway; these connectKristiansand andKristiansund Airport, Kvernberget to Stavanger and Bergen, andHaugesund andMolde to Bergen. These routes will replace the SASFokker 50 aircraft with -300 and Q400 aircraft.[15]
In 2016 the airline was awarded a five-year contract by theNorwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications to operate 13 of Norway'sPublic Service Obligation routes and started operating the routes in April 2017.[16]
Widerøe hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of May 2025):[17]
As of August 2025[update], Widerøe operates the following aircraft:[21]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 | 23 | — | 39 | |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-200 | 4 | — | 39 | |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 | 3 | — | 50 | |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 | 17 | — | 78 | |
| Embraer 190-E2 | 3 | — | 110 | Launch customer.[22] |
| Total | 50 | — |
Between 2000 and 2018, the airline operated exclusivelyde Havilland Canada/BombardierDash 8 aircraft. As of 2018, Widerøe was the world's largest operator of the Dash 8-100 series, afterPiedmont Airlines retired their fleet.[citation needed] As of 2013, Widerøe is the first and only airline in the world to operate every single variant of the Dash 8 simultaneously, and is one of the few airlines to ever operate all variants of the Dash 8, as well as the older DHC-6 Twin Otter and Dash 7.[citation needed]
In January 2017, Widerøe announced it had signed a contract withEmbraer for up to 15 new Embraer 190-E2 jets, with firm orders for three E190-E2 aircraft and purchase rights on 12 more jets from the Embraer E2 family.[23] The airline is the first operator of the E190-E2 aircraft.[22] The aircraft is Widerøe's first jet aircraft, after previously operating an all-turboprop fleet.In April 2018, Wideroe received its first Embraer 190-E2. The delivery was the first E2 aircraft to be delivered to an airline. It was handed over to Wideroe by Embraer in a large ceremony, with both Embraer and Wideroe staff as well as media present. Its first revenue flight occurred on 24 April 2018.[22]
The Dash 8-100, Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 can operate on the manyshort runway airports in Norway, on which Widerøe is the main operator. Widerøe was the launch customer of Dash 8-100 extended service program. The program extends the economic life of the turboprop by 100% to 160,000 flight cycles.[24] Widerøe plans to replace most of its Dash-8 aircraft by 2030.[25]
Norwegian Rewardfrequent flyer points can be earned on all international routes and certain commercial domestic routes. Points can be redeemed on international routes and domestic non PSO routes.
Media related toWiderøe at Wikimedia Commons
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