Air Wotanberg offers the discerning tourist and business flyer the opportunity to arrive in Wotanberg in style. Air Wotanberg--whose fleet includes such aircraft as a Grumman Goose (shown above), some Renegades and even a B-52--can cater to every taste and meet every need--from the adventurous to the mundane.
Founded in 1934 as the Wotanberger Overseas Airways Company (WOAC), the airline began operation using both an Armstrong Whitworth AW 15 Atalanta and a Junker 52's on weekly flights between Trevorstein and both London and Berlin. In early-1935, with the acquisition of an additional aircraft of each type, the number of flights doubled and special holiday flights were added. That same year, a Sikorsky S 38 was purchased for use between its colony off the east coast of Africa--the Mustela Islands--and Mombasa, Kenya which had connecting flights (via Imperial Airways) to London.
In order to establish a direct connection between Wotanberg and both the Mustela Islands and its colony in the south Pacific--the Seiber Islands--WOAC acquired two Barataria Bonavistas. The first (named the Kifaru Clipper) flew weekly between the Drachenrücken Reservoir in Wotanberg and the Mustela Islands, while the other (named the Tarafu Clipper) flew weekly between the Mustela Islands and the Seiber Islands. Plans were also made to purchase an Armstrong Whitworth AW 23 Ensign to take over the Wotanberg-Mustela route. Upon learning that WOAC had purchased two American aircraft and was going to be purchasing another British aircraft, Germany had put pressure on the airline to purchase one of its Focke-Wulf 200 Condors, as well as two additional Junker 52's. Both the Ensign (named Pegasus) and the Condor (named Sleipnir) went into in operation in late 1938 on the Wotanberg-Mustela route, releasing the Kifaru Clipper to join the Tarafu Clipper on the Mustela-Seiber route.
In 1937, WOAC also acquired two pre-production Grumman Geese for use in the Seiber Islands. From May to August 1938, Jake Cutter (whose later South Pacific exploits were fictionalized in the TV series Tales of the Gold Monkey) briefly flew one WOAC's two pre-production Grumman Geese which were used to fly not only within the Seiber Islands but also from the Seiber Islands Hubert to both Tagataya and Boragora in the French Marivellas. (The Goose Jake flew was renamed "Cutter's Goose" and given to him in appreciation of his heroic efforts in saving the vacationing Grand Ducal Family from pirates in late 1938. Quinton McHale--whose WWII exploits were fictionalized in the American TV series McHale's Navy--also played an important role in this rescue.)
With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, flights from Wotanberg to Berlin, London, and the Mustela Islands were suspended temporarily. Soon, however, flights to Lisbon were initiated (using Junker 52's), and thence to London (using Atalantas), and also to the Mustela Islands (using both Pegasus and Sleipnir), by way of Portugal's African colonies, Portuguese Guinea, Angola, and Mozambique. The condition imposed by the Germans on these flights was restoration of flights to Berlin and the right to book passage for its diplomats and diplomat "mail" on the flights through Africa to the Mustela Islands. Remarkably, these flights--as well as the flights from the Mustela Islands to the Seiber Islands--continued throughout the war with no losses except for two accidents due to mechanical failure.
During WWII, the company was secretly nationalized and many of its aircraft utilized for a variety of clandestine operations. After the war, the Seiber Islands Division (SID) of the company--now under the leadership of Jake Cutter--prospered. (For this service, the airport on St Hubert in the Seiber Islands was renamed in his honor upon his retirement.) However, the rest of the company went into decline. However, in 1971 Vincent Ricardo--founder and President of Trans-Global Enterprises which had just moved its headquarters to the Grand Duchy (some of whose exploits were fictionalized in the motion picture The In-Laws)--suggested that the SID become an independent airline named "Seiber Airlines", that the Mustela Islands Division become an independent airline named "Air Mogambo", and that the remainder of WOAC be renamed "Air Wotanberg". He also suggested that the operation of all three airlines be contracted out to Wong Airline. Acting on these suggestions, Air Wotanberg also brought in such pilots as Gene Ryack and Billy Covington (whose own exploits were fictionalized in the motion picture Air America).
Today, Air Wotanberg offers a wide range of services to both the tourist and the business flyer. Scheduled flights include those between Amelia Earhart International Airport and London's Heathrow Airport and between Amelia Earhart's seaplane annex at Drachenruecken Reservoir and the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Moreover, Air Wotanberg's aircraft can be chartered not only for flights to or from the Grand Duchy, but virtually anywhere.
In addition, Air Wotanberg serves the Grand Duchy by providing air transport and support of and to its military units and other government agencies. Most interesting of these supported activities is the Grand Duchy's "Project Hot Air", a research program carried out by the Ministry of Science into the effects of global warming on the Grand Duchy's atmosphere. To support this program, Air Wotanberg recently acquired a demilitarized B-52 bomber, which was, at one time, commanded by retired American Air Force Brigadier General T.J. "King" Kong (whose flying abilities were highlighted in the motion picture Doctor Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb).
