The White Falcon - 30.03.1990, Blaðsíða 9

Compiled from “News From Iceland”
“The key to running an operation like ours
successfully lies in teamwork, whereby ev-
eryone involved takes part in operating the
company,” says captain Amgrimur
Johannsson, who along with his wife, Thora
Gudmundsdottir, and family, owns and runs
the charter-flight operator Air Atlanta which
exclusively focuses on assignments abroad.
Air Atlanta burst into the public’s con-
sciousness last January, when it purchased the
Boeing 737-200jet the treasury acquired from
Eagle Air over a year ago, after repeated de-
faults by the airline on treasury-guaranteed
loans. Prior to this purchase, very few people
in Iceland even knew of Air Atlanta’s exis-
tence.
Ik In fact, however, Air Atlanta has been in
Iperation for some two years, having acquired
Its operating licence in February 1988.
Silently but surely the company has since
been gaining momentum through various in-
ternational assignments, culminating in a long-
term contract with Finnair, the national carrier
of Finland, in which the airline is presently
engaged.
“Until some five years ago,” says
Johannsson, “I was working with Eagle Air,
after which I decided to enter the charter
market as an independent operator. With a
Boeing 707 and a Douglas DC-8 on lease, I
was mostly handling pilgrimage flights out of
the former French colonies in Africa for Air
Afrique on a short-term basis.
Flying for Finnair
“In the summer of 1988, shortly after Air
Atlanta had been formally established, our
first long-term contract was concluded, in-
volving flights between Cyprus and Helsinki
for one of Finland’s largest travel agencies,”
Johannsson continues. “That same summer
we continued to handle pilgrimage flights in
Africa.”
Air Atlanta’s operations for the Finnish
travel agency brought it into contact with
Finnair, which at the time was looking to bring
in a charter operator to handle scheduled cargo
flights.
A multitude of airlines made Finnair offers,
among them Air Atlanta, which finally landed
the much sought-after contract.
“I really don’t know why Finnair chose us
particularly,” says Johannsson. “The fact that
Finnair had considerable experience with
Icelandic airlines no doubt played a consider-
able experience with Icelandic airlines no doubt
played a considerable part, as Icelandair and
Finnair have, for example, cooperated in the
field of aircraft maintenance. Perhaps Air
Atlanta’s small size also provided us with an
advantage.”
A Boeing 737-200, subsequently painted in
Finnair’s colours, was leased from the US for
this operation, which involves between 18-20
scheduled cargo flights per week to cities such
as Stockholm, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Brus-
sels, Amsterdam, Manchester, and London.
Purchasing the
treasury jet
“Of the 3,000 or so 737-200s produced,”
Johannsson continues, “only 50 were designed
as freight carriers, among them Eagle Air’s
jet.
We knew of four such aircraft on the market
at the time we were looking to buy, but the fact
that we knew what to expect as far as Eagle
Air’s aircraft was concerned and that our
mechanics were familiar with it made the
decision to go ahead with this particular pur-
chase an easy one.
An agreement on the jet’s purchase was
concluded with the treasury last January with
the assistance of a US leasing company, with
the sale price lowering Eagle Air’s debt to the
treasury accordingly.
“There is definitely room for Icelandic en-
terprise on the foreign charter market, and the
country possesses a tremendous amount of
untapped know-how in this field,” says
Johannsson.
“This is a market which Icelanders have
heretofore not shown enough attention, al-
though they are anything but disadvantaged in
this highly competitive field. Airlines are
always on the lookout for charter operators
during peak season to handle assignments
beyond their optimum capacity.
“Air Atlanta once received eleven enquiries
involving assignments in the same day,”
Johannsson continues.
“Of course, the goal is to achieve long-
term assignments which can be operated on a
steady basis.”
Based in Mosfellsbaer, just outside of
Reykjavik, Air Atlanta is comprised of ap-
proximately 35 Icelanders, either on a part-
time or full-time basis.
The competitiveness of the market means
that offers for assignments have to be made at
a non-stop rate, which involves a tremendous
amount of work. In the end, only 1-2% of
these results in a contract.
“I am fortunate enough to have a terrific
group of people with me at Air Atlanta,”
continues Johannsson, “without which the
airline wouldn’t be where it is today.
Every person working at Air Atlanta is as
closely involved in the airline’s management
process as possible. I really don’t see how an
operation like this could succeed otherwise.”
Schedule of Religious services
9:00 ajn. Saturday Seventh Day Adventist
5:30 pjn. Roman Catholic Mass
8:30 ajn. Sunday Liturgical Communion
9:30 ajn. Service, (Multi-faith chapel) Protestant Sunday
9:30 ajn. School (Contact chapel at 4111 for class location.) Roman Catholic Mass
11:00 a.m. CCD (Sept thru May,
high school. Family
Services)
11:00 a.m. Protestant Morning
Worship (Communion-
First Sundays)
12:30 pjn. Roman Catholic Mass
Lay Reader Services
9:00 ajn. The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
(Elementary School)
10:00 a.m. Church of Christ,
(New Community Center)
11:15 a.m. Gospel Service,
(Andrew’s Theater)
3:00 p.m. Christian Life
Church of the Nations
Weekdays
11:30 a.m. Roman Catholic Mass
(Mon.- Thu. First Fri. of
each month with
luncheon.)
Contact the chapel at 4111 or 4211 for
other activities. -----
I III 11-0-
March 30,1990
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