OLT Express Germany (formerly OLT Ostfriesische Lufttransport GmbH or OLT) was an airline based in Bremen in Germany. The company moved to Bremen from Emden in February 2012. It operated regional scheduled and charter flights linking northern Germany to other parts of the country and Bremen to other European destinations. Its main base was Bremen Airport.

History

Founding and first years

OLT was founded on 1 November 1958 by Martin Dekker and Jan Janssen as Ostfriesische Lufttaxi - Dekker und Janssen OHG, initially operating air taxi flights to islands in the North Sea from Emden. The first aircraft was a KZ VII from Skandinavisk Aero Industri A/S in Copenhagen. In 1961 the airline hired its first own staff: a pilot and a 'groundstewardess'.

OLT had, by 1968, five aircraft and operated 13,174 flights. In 1991 OLT set up a base in Bremen and started with its scheduled services there. In 1996 all OFD activities were integrated into OLT and therefore under the control of AG EMS.

OLT Express Germany

OLT announced on 4 August 2011 it would undergo major restructuring after losing its shuttle flights contract with Airbus Industries. Effective October 2011 all Fokker and Saab aircraft operations would stop and 100 of its 120 employees were to leave the company. Only the 'island-hopping' services from Emden to Heligoland and Borkum with small aircraft were to remain. In August 2011, OLT was bought by a Polish shadow banking Ponzi scheme company Amber Gold, which also bought Polish regional carrier Jet Air and the Polish charter airline Yes Airways. These two Polish companies were combined under the brand OLT Express while OLT became OLT Express Germany. The island flights were taken over by a new independent company, OFD Ostfriesischer-Flug-Dienst.

OLT Express Germany completed the purchase of Contact Air in September 2012. The purchase included Contact Air's wet-lease contract to operate two aircraft on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines. The same week as the Contact Air purchase Amber Gold was reported to be experiencing financial difficulty and funding for the deal was in question. On 27 July, the Polish OLT Express suspended all services without notice.

In August 2012 Dutch company Panta Holdings announced it was buying OLT Germany from Amber Gold and also finalised the purchase of Contact Air. Panta also owns Denim Air and Maas Air Leasing. Both subsidiaries own Fokker aircraft and Maas leased out two Fokker 100 to Contact Air. In December 2012 it was announced that the wet-lease contract with Swiss International Air Lines would not be renewed and was scheduled to conclude in March 2013.

OLT Express Germany ceased all operations on 27 January 2013 due to financial difficulties.

Destinations

OLT operated the following services (). Note that all island flights had been transferred to the independent company OFD Ostfriesischer-Flug-Dienst back in 2011.

Operated as OLT Express Germany

  • Vienna - Vienna International Airport seasonal
  • Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport
  • Toulouse - Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
  • Bremen - Bremen Airport Hub
  • Dresden - Dresden Airport
  • Hamburg - Hamburg Airport
  • Karlsruhe - Baden Airpark
  • Münster - Münster Osnabrück Airport
  • Munich - Munich Airport
  • Saarbrücken - Saarbrücken Airport Hub
  • Zürich - Zurich Airport
  • London - London Southend Airport

Operated for Swiss International Air Lines

  • Stuttgart - Stuttgart Airport
  • Munich - Munich Airport
  • Budapest - Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport
  • Warsaw - Warsaw Chopin Airport
  • Belgrade - Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
  • Zürich - Zurich Airport Base

Fleet

thumb|OLT Express Germany [[Fokker 100]]

, the OLT Express Germany fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"

|-

! Aircraft

! Total

! Orders

! Passengers

! Notes

|-

| Fokker 100

| style="text-align:center;" | 10

| style="text-align:center;" | —

| style="text-align:center;" |100

|

|-

| Saab 2000

| style="text-align:center;" | 4

| style="text-align:center;" | —

| style="text-align:center;" | 56

|

|-

| Saab 340

| style="text-align:center;" | 1

| style="text-align:center;" | —

| style="text-align:center;" | 37

|

|-

! Total

! 15

! —

! colspan="7"|

|}

References

  • Official website