Nina Handegaard has joined Helitrans and will, among other things, lead the company’s cruise venture. A demanding and hectic industry with coordination with many operators where the logistics must work flawlessly. So who is this lady who has taken on this great challenge?

Hommersåk

Nina was born and raised in Western Norway. In a small village outside Stavanger, Hommersåk, in Sandnes municipality. She has lived here for most of her adult life, with the exception of a few years in Belgium. 

In 2008, she got married and moved to Tønsberg, where she lives today.

Cruise

– I am excitedly looking forward to co-ordinating the cruise flight in Helitrans. I have experience with this from Fonnafly, but this will be a little different. I also have some experience from the other side; I have been on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean myself. I loved it – and want to travel again as soon as the chance arises again, says Nina.

Nina will now be responsible for the contact with the cruise operators and will organize Helitrans’s investment in the cruise industry. The cruises will have the opportunity to see Norway’s fjords and sights from the air. For the first time, it is the cruise tourists in Honningsvåg, Stavanger and partly Haugesund who are offered a trip in the air. Next year, the plan is to expand the offer.

– Helicopter sightseeing against the cruise companies is big business. But if it is to work well, it must be streamlined, and the routines must be in place. The system must work like the gears in a helicopter engine. Nothing can go wrong. If you cannot deliver, it backfires – and you lose the business.

Systems and routines are something Nina is good at. Not least in making room for routines, because she can shine like the sun, but when she has to, she can also be strict, and firmly tell her colleagues what is needed or where the cupboard should be.

It is not only her co-workers at Helitrans who are happy to have Nina join the team. There is also the CEO of Helitrans, Ole Christian Melhus.

 – We are very pleased to have brought a capacity like Nina Handegaard to the team in Helitrans, she will play an important role in the new Helitrans where she will work with our renewed investment in the Cruise segment. In addition, she will have other administrative tasks in our marketing department, says Melhus.

In addition to coordinating cruises, Nina will also work with tenders and general sales work in Eastern Norway.

As a person, Nina is very outgoing. She likes people, is a skilled communicator and spreads joy around her colleagues. She is a team player and good at playing well with others, but makes demands on herself, as well as the others she works with.

Tønsberg

 The cheerful Rogaland girl has found her home in Tønsberg. The summer and nightlife city has a lot to offer, but it’s also good to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle. And then she has the cottage in Indre Vestfold, just 40 minutes from Tønsberg, she can sneak away to.

– The cabin is my paradise. We enjoy ourselves here and spend a lot of time. Not least, we worked a lot from here during the pandemic, says Nina with a smile.

It started with the oil adventure

However, it all began in Stavanger with the oil industry in the 80s. She took an early step into the pulsating life here and has contributed to the flourishing of Norway’s oil capital.

 At the time, Helikopter Service AS was a major supplier of chartering personnel to and from the offshore installations. Nina was employed by HS for 15 years, where she was responsible for large customer portfolios.

She then continued her career at Aberdeen Service Company, ASCO Norway, where she was sales and marketing manager for the base in Tananger. She was able to help build up this company, which went from a small start with a single customer to seventeen in a short time. There was an explosion in the market, and the base is to this day one of the major Norwegian logistics bases.

She then went to more down-to-earth logistics, specifically SAR AS, Spesialavfall Rogaland, also with responsibility for sales and marketing. After 2 years, Nina chose to physically move. She took a time out which was used to learn Russian and do odd jobs in the oil industry.

Domestic helicopter 

In 2011, it was tempting to return to the helicopter industry. A job at the European Helicopter Center, EHC, was her entry into domestic helicopters.

In autumn 2013, she was asked to come to BMI Regional (British Midland) in England. Here she was given sales responsibility for the airline’s investment in Norway, and eventually also Sweden and Denmark. It was an exciting period with a lot of traveling all over Scandinavia, as well as to Frankfurt, Aberdeen, Munich and more where she worked with sales managers from all over Europe.

It was four years with the company before she returned to domestic helicopters through the position of sales and marketing manager in Fonnafly AS Operations in 2018, where she worked until the company was sold in 2020.

During the pandemic, she worked as a consultant until Helitrans knocked on the door and asked if she wanted to take on new challenges.

– I am looking forward to taking on the tasks at Helitrans, and promise to stand up for us to succeed, says Nina.

Nina in private

In her private life, Nina likes to listen to music. She has been a band musician since she was younger, and the notes are in her spinal cord. Otherwise it will be reading books, cooking, nature walks and not least traveling and experiencing new places.

There will also be some trips to Sandnes and Stavanger. Her daughter in Stavanger recently had a beautiful son, and Nina has become a grandmother with the demands that entails. In addition, she has 6 bonus grandchildren. There will be large family dinners – and with the family and good friends around the table, Nina is very satisfied.