The Larvik politician chastises Rema-Reitan’s private plane use: – Quite unmusical

(The online newspaper) Ole Robert Reitan recently took to social media and boasted about the company’s sustainability efforts.

At the same time, new information, which Nettavisen has obtained, shows how the Reitan family uses a private plane to the “cottage” in Marbella.

And the justification Reitan initially gave for using private aircraft is very little consistent with how private aircraft use actually is.

The Rema 1000 aircraft

Nettavisen recently wrote about the private jet use of Rema 1000 owners Odd, Ole Robert and Magnus Reitan.

Their own private airline Rely AS had a turnover of DKK 32 million last year.

Reitan did not want to answer questions about whether they owned more private planes than the one jet registered to Reitan AS.

Now it turns out that the Reitan family and their companies own another private plane. It is registered on Rema 1000.

– Necessary aircraft use

Nettavisen has extracted flight data showing flights in 2023 for Reitan’s two private planes.

221 flights have been completed up to and including 3 December.

It turns out that the flights are not in line with Reitan’s reasons for using private planes at all.

– Reitan AS, with all our companies, has operations in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The companies use aircraft to travel efficiently between the seven countries in which we are established, and us considers the use of aircraft as necessary to look after and develop our business, the press officer in Reitan, Berit Hvalryg, wrote to Nettavisen in connection with the first case.

She continued:

– Aircraft are only used by persons associated with the business and all flights are compensated by purchasing climate quotas. Beyond this, we do not publish details about the number of trips, flight hours or passengers, press officer Berit Hvalryg wrote in an e-mail to Nettavisen at the time, she wrote.

Mostly flies Oslo-Trondheim

The reasoning Reitan uses for using private planes is not consistent with the routes the planes are used on.

No less than 93 of the 221 flights this year have been between Oslo and Trondheim. It is one of the routes in Europe with the most scheduled flights.

– When the management and owners show such little respect for the climate that they have unrestrained use of private aircraft for fun, it becomes hollow, says leader of the Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen.

Only a fraction of the flight is between the countries that Reiten stated as a reason for having a private plane.

Of the 221 flights that were carried out, the following went:

• 21 to or from Denmark
• 11 to or from Sweden
• 1 journey from Finland to Norway
• 2 journeys between Latvia and Estonia.

You can read the entire list further down. There it appears that there are also flights to and from holiday destinations such as Grenoble, Nice and Bordeaux.

Private planes are also used to and from Switzerland. Last year it became known that Magnus Reitan moved most of his fortune to Switzerlandwhen he transferred shares to his two children, who both live in Switzerland.

Fly to the “cottage” in Marbella

The overview shows that there have been 18 flights to/from Malaga. Malaga is the province where the city of Marbella is located and where Reitan has had its holiday paradise since 2004.

– Airplanes are used in our business operations nationally and internationally and are rented out privately to the owners, writes Berit Hvalryg, press officer at Reitan, to Nettavisen.

– 70 per cent of the trips so far this year have been related to business, while 30 per cent have been for private use, she writes.

The family still has a property in Marbella, although earlier this autumn it was known that they had sold the giant property of around ten acres, and with a house of 1,600 square metres.

– I confirm that Odd Reitan has sold and bought a house that is somewhat smaller, Reitan’s press officer Berit Hvalryg informed Finansavisen i august.

– Unmusical

Reitan’s use of a private plane is causing a stir, also in the Conservative Party. Business policy spokesperson Lene Westgaard Halle thinks Reitan’s use of a private plane is surprising.

– The grocery players are good at sustainability, and the fact that Reitan ensures emission reductions and sustainability in its value chains means more for the climate than flying private planes, says parliamentary representative for the Conservative Party, Lene Westgaard-Halle, and she continues:

– It is nevertheless quite unmusical. The vast majority have received worse advice. We pay a lot for groceries even though the shops have low margins – also at Rema 1000. Then it doesn’t look very good that Reitan has two private planes, she says.

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Leader of the Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen, reacts to the new information.

– I am surprised and sad. Reitan appears as an environmentally conscious and modern business leader. Then it is extra strange that he chooses to pollute unnecessarily much in his private life, he says.

– It underlines that Norwegian grocery chains sweep up most of the profit in the food industry. When it is also spent on luxury pollution and that sad, he says.

– Does not hang on the grip

– I actually think it’s a bit strange that they do this, because I perceive Reitan to be concerned about climate and the environment otherwise. They are good at many things, so this is not entirely up to the right, says Westgaard-Halle from the Right

Recently, Reitan CEO Ole Robert told Reitan about their Future Advisory Board 2023, which will give the company so that they can become more sustainable. This group is led by athlete Birgit Skarstein. None of the proposals the group put forward affected aircraft or private aircraft.

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– It is important to talk about sustainability and the environment, and it is important that Reitan does it. But they must have credibility. It is greatly weakened when you fly by private plane. It’s sad, we need many people to speak up and be good role models. When they fly private planes, the positive effect of the other sensible things you say is weakened, says Gulowsen.

Willing to sell the Rema 1000 aircraft

According to Reitan’s press officer, Berit Rygg, changes are now taking place when it comes to aircraft use.

– Reitan AS has one aircraft and REMA 1000 Norge AS has one aircraft. The latter has also been put up for sale, writes Hvalryg.

– Why do you fly so many private flights Oslo-Trondheim, it is one of the routes in Europe with the most scheduled flights? Is there something you would like to limit in the future?

– The use of aircraft, regardless of the route, is a dilemma in light of the climate ambition. That is why we buy climate quotas and assess their use on an ongoing basis. This also applies to the section between Oslo and Trondheim, writes Hvalryg.