SAC

Welcome to SAC - the Star Air Cockpitassociation

Please note that this site is not official company information. See below for link to the company website

STAR AIR was founded on September 1st 1987 by the A P Moller Line who bought a hangar and the operating organisation from ALK-AIR and leased 3 Fokker 27-600's. Until 1995 STAR AIR was based in the hangar in Copenhagen Airport. At the outset, STAR AIR's customer base consisted of companies who required transport for their customers and employees (business charters), as well as other airlines who required the lease of aircraft and crew. Among STAR AIRs customers were AIR LITORAL, DLT (Lufthansa), DANAIR (Maersk Air), LOGAN AIR (Scotland) and similar companies in need of assistance at short notice.

STAR AIR's business objective was AIRFREIGHT, and consequently the activities gradually turned towards freight- related customers; TNT, FEDEX, UPS, XP-AVIATION etc.

The F-27 aircrafts were converted to freighters (Class E Cargo version) and for some years cargo flights were the company's sole activity.

However, STAR AIR never established its own distribution network, instead it sold its capacity as charter or sub-charter.

By 1993 the market rate for charters of freighter aircraft of the Fokker 27 size had fallen to an unacceptably low level and the dismantling of the fleet was initiated. The administration, operations and navigation departments were taken over by MAERSK AIR. Some employees were laid off but most were transferred to other activities in other companies within the MAERSK GROUP. STAR AIR took up passenger flying again.

Meanwhile, FEDEX had withdrawn its flight activities from the European continent. UPS, United Parcel Service, continued but - due to lack of traffic rights within the EU - found themselves in need of a local operator to carry out the flights they couldn't operate themselves.

STAR AIR was in contention to become UPS's partner within the EU, but it lost out to STERLING AIRWAYS who already operated Boeing 727's and had an FAA approved maintenance organisation.

However, STERLING AIRWAYS went bankrupt shortly before commencing the UPS operation and thus, at very short notice, it became STAR AIR who set up UPS's new European operation.

On October 22nd 1993, STAR AIR entered into a contract with UPS for the operation of 2 Boeing 727 routes; Cologne - Zaragoza - Porto and Cologne - Bergamo ­ Rome. The first flights began only 10 days after the signing of the contract.

This was only possible by employing the personnel who had carried out most of the preparations in the now defunct STERLING AIRWAYS. Thus, former STERLING AIRWAYS flight-engineers, pilots and administrative personnel suddenly found themselves employed by their life-long competitor.

SAC - organising both pilots and flight-engineers - was founded in 1995 as a branch of the Dansk Funktionærforbund / Flight Personnel Union and it obtained the first collective agreement in the history of STAR AIR shortly afterwards.

In 1996 the last remaining STAR AIR Fokker 27 was sold, leaving STAR AIR 100% engaged in the UPS operation. At the end of July, 2004, the last B727 were returned to UPS and the 4 routes were being operated by STAR AIR with a fleet of 4 B757s.

In 2003 STAR AIR and UPS entered into a new contractual agreement for the next 10 years. From primo 2005 STAR AIR gradually placed 11 Boeing 767 Special Freighters in service with UPS. The 757PFs were returned to UPS.

When A. P. Moller - Maersk in 2005 sold Maersk Air, STAR AIR remained as an independent entity within the A. P. Moller - Maersk group which required a substantial increase of techical and administrative staff.

Generally the aircraft are of Danish registration but STAR AIR has obtained FAA pt.129 approval and operates US registered aircraft - mostly in connection with heavy maintenance of own aircrafts.

About 135 mechanics and pilots are employed full-time outside Denmark. Most are based in Cologne, Germany, where UPS has its main European hub.

SAC, Upsalagade 20, 2100 København Ø