| Carrier: | Sterling
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| Headquarters: | Denmark
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| Founded: | 1962
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| Destinations: | More
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| Bases: | Copenhagen, Billund, Aalborg, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Oslo and Bergen
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| Owners: | Northern Travel Holding, NTH, icelandic ones
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| Listed: | Yes
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| Online Booking: | Yes
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| Website: | www.sterling.dk
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| Fleet | B737-500 4
B737-700 17
B737-800 8
| Overview - Sterling Sterling – Scandinavias biggest taken over by one of its smallest Denmark-based Sterling, founded in 1962, but an LCC since 2002, has been at the centre of much of the over-fragmented Nordic markets consolidation activity. It has used merger and acquisition to become the regions largest LCC and Europes fourth largest, growing from a six-aircraft operator in 2003 to having 29 B737s today.
Sterlings biggest leap in scope came with the Sep-05 purchase of Maersk Air and its 19 aircraft. That acquisition propelled it to its current size, allowing it to carry 2.7 million passengers in 2005 (achieving a seat factor of 77.3%), after accommodating 1.8 million in 2004.
Most services originate from its principal base in Copenhagen, but it also conducts non-stop, longer-haul services to European financial centres and holiday destinations in southern Europe from Stockholm, Helsinki (a market it aggressively entered in Oct-05) and Billund. The carrier is not profitable, but anticipates a positive net result in 2006. The centre point of its plans is to utilise the new capacity to boost short-haul revenues through frequency upgrades on its more business-oriented intra-Nordic network – which connects all the national capitals and business centres – as well as on services to London, Amsterdam and Berlin. Uncertain future under new merger Sterling was poised to succeed in the near future under its new ownership by Icelandic group Fons. But its Oct-05 sale after half a years ownership to the FL Group (and stated intention to merge it with FlyMe) clouds the picture. It remains to be seen what its future shape and size will be under FlyMe control.
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