Sabena McDonnell Douglas DC-10
Sabena (an acronym of Societe Anoyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aerienne—Belgian Corporation for Air Navigation Services) was formed in May 1923 as Belgium’s flag carrier airline, replacing an earlier company. Beginning with a mix of French Bleriots and Italian Ansaldos, Sabena’s initial route network was split between linking Belgium with Europe and serving locations in the Belgian Congo (today the Republic of the Congo); the two networks were not linked until 1935, when a five-day service was flown between Brussels and Leopoldville.
World War II temporarily ended Sabena’s plans to expand its European routes, as Belgium was overrun by Nazi Germany, but the airline remained in operation in the Congo. Following war’s end, Sabena rebuilt like most postwar airlines—with a lot of war surplus Douglas DC-3s, which would be operated by the airline until 1970. It was rapidly able to establish transatlantic links with DC-6s, and Sabena adopted the title “Belgian World Airlines” as a result; it also maintained its links with Africa. Though Sabena also suffered from a poor safety record during the 1950s, it was able to maintain a period of steady growth. In 1960, it became the second European airline to operate a jet transatlantic service (after BOAC) when it purchased Boeing 707s; though the Belgian Congo achieved independence after a bloody conflict in 1961, Sabena was able to maintain its links to Africa and even helped start Air Congo.
The last of the piston-engined airliners left in 1970, and Sabena maintained a mostly jet fleet. Unusually, Sabena did not favor one aircraft company over another, and maintained one of the most diverse fleets in Europe—at one point flying Boeing 707s alongside Airbus A300s and Sud-Aviation Caravelles. It entered the wide-body era in 1971 by purchasing 747s, though there was little demand for it. Indeed, most of Sabena’s profitable routes were ones with little competition, such as its African network.
Sabena remained just profitable in the 1980s, and introduced a revamped livery in 1990, becoming one of the first “Eurowhite” airlines by adopting an all-white fuselage, and attempted to standardize more by using mostly Airbus products. However, Sabena was already in trouble: barely turning a profit as it was, the deregulation of the European airline industry and a slump caused by the First Gulf War hit Sabena hard. With the Belgian government (which had owned a majority share since Sabena’s founding) devoting more and more money to keep the airline operating, it went looking for a profitable partner—only to find that no one wanted Sabena. Air France, British Airways, and KLM all passed on offers, and it was not until 1995 that Swissair finally agreed to become the minority partner in Sabena. Even then, Sabena continued to struggle. An attempt to further modernize the fleet just added to the airline’s costs.
The fatal blow finally came in 2001, in the post-9/11 airline downturn. Most airlines took significant losses, but Sabena was already teetering on the edge, and worse, facing increased competition from low-cost airlines like Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic. Swissair promised to inject millions in investments into Sabena, but Swissair itself was struggling to survive. With no help coming from Swissair and the Belgian government in no position to help, Sabena filed for bankruptcy in November 2001. Some of the airline’s aircraft and investments were rescued by a group of Belgian businessmen, who launched SN Brussels Airlines soon after Sabena’s bankruptcy, and SN Brussels continued to use the stylized-S tail logo of Sabena. Even this came to an end in 2007, when SN Brussels merged with Virgin Express to become simply Brussels Airlines.
This DC-10 shows the 1970s-80s scheme of Sabena.
Sabena McDonnell Douglas DC-10
Sabena (an acronym of Societe Anoyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aerienne—Belgian Corporation for Air Navigation Services) was formed in May 1923 as Belgium’s flag carrier airline, replacing an earlier company. Beginning with a mix of French Bleriots and Italian Ansaldos, Sabena’s initial route network was split between linking Belgium with Europe and serving locations in the Belgian Congo (today the Republic of the Congo); the two networks were not linked until 1935, when a five-day service was flown between Brussels and Leopoldville.
World War II temporarily ended Sabena’s plans to expand its European routes, as Belgium was overrun by Nazi Germany, but the airline remained in operation in the Congo. Following war’s end, Sabena rebuilt like most postwar airlines—with a lot of war surplus Douglas DC-3s, which would be operated by the airline until 1970. It was rapidly able to establish transatlantic links with DC-6s, and Sabena adopted the title “Belgian World Airlines” as a result; it also maintained its links with Africa. Though Sabena also suffered from a poor safety record during the 1950s, it was able to maintain a period of steady growth. In 1960, it became the second European airline to operate a jet transatlantic service (after BOAC) when it purchased Boeing 707s; though the Belgian Congo achieved independence after a bloody conflict in 1961, Sabena was able to maintain its links to Africa and even helped start Air Congo.
The last of the piston-engined airliners left in 1970, and Sabena maintained a mostly jet fleet. Unusually, Sabena did not favor one aircraft company over another, and maintained one of the most diverse fleets in Europe—at one point flying Boeing 707s alongside Airbus A300s and Sud-Aviation Caravelles. It entered the wide-body era in 1971 by purchasing 747s, though there was little demand for it. Indeed, most of Sabena’s profitable routes were ones with little competition, such as its African network.
Sabena remained just profitable in the 1980s, and introduced a revamped livery in 1990, becoming one of the first “Eurowhite” airlines by adopting an all-white fuselage, and attempted to standardize more by using mostly Airbus products. However, Sabena was already in trouble: barely turning a profit as it was, the deregulation of the European airline industry and a slump caused by the First Gulf War hit Sabena hard. With the Belgian government (which had owned a majority share since Sabena’s founding) devoting more and more money to keep the airline operating, it went looking for a profitable partner—only to find that no one wanted Sabena. Air France, British Airways, and KLM all passed on offers, and it was not until 1995 that Swissair finally agreed to become the minority partner in Sabena. Even then, Sabena continued to struggle. An attempt to further modernize the fleet just added to the airline’s costs.
The fatal blow finally came in 2001, in the post-9/11 airline downturn. Most airlines took significant losses, but Sabena was already teetering on the edge, and worse, facing increased competition from low-cost airlines like Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic. Swissair promised to inject millions in investments into Sabena, but Swissair itself was struggling to survive. With no help coming from Swissair and the Belgian government in no position to help, Sabena filed for bankruptcy in November 2001. Some of the airline’s aircraft and investments were rescued by a group of Belgian businessmen, who launched SN Brussels Airlines soon after Sabena’s bankruptcy, and SN Brussels continued to use the stylized-S tail logo of Sabena. Even this came to an end in 2007, when SN Brussels merged with Virgin Express to become simply Brussels Airlines.
This DC-10 shows the 1970s-80s scheme of Sabena.