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14.09.2006
SAS celebrates 60 years
On Sunday, September 17, SAS, Scandinavian Airlines System, will celebrate
its 60th anniversary as an airline. Sixty years ago, the airline undertook its
first scheduled transatlantic flight, from Stockholm-Bromma to New York. Since
then, SAS has written aviation history on several occasions.
SAS was formed in 1946 through the merger of three Nordic airlines. The contract
for a joint Scandinavian airline was signed in the early hours of August 1 and
a short time later the first flight to New York was operated. The two American
pilots who were on board the inaugural flight are now in Scandinavia to celebrate
the anniversary at the ages of 86 and 82.
The transatlantic flight was followed by several occasions on which SAS was
the pioneer:
- SAS was first in the world to have scheduled flights over the polar region,
with the launch of the Copenhagen-Los Angeles route in 1954.
- Three years later, in 1957, SAS became the first airline with a flight route
across the North Pole to Japan, which resulted in a time reduction from 52
to 32 hours.
- In 1959, SAS was ahead of all the others in deploying the French-built,
twin-engine jet aircraft, the Caravelle, in scheduled operations. The maiden
flight was between Copenhagen and Beirut.
- SAS was the first airline to introduce an electronic booking system for
all of its services in Europe in 1965.
- SAS was an early adopter in permitting smoking on its routes, but also first
to have a smoking ban (1986).
- SAS was first to encourage work on board, in the form of a writing desk,
and subsequently became the first airline in the world to offer passengers
wireless Internet connections on all of its intercontinental flights.
During the 60 years that have passed Scandinavian Airlines has launched routes
to all of the world's inhabited continents except Oceania.
The 60th anniversary on September 17 September will be celebrated in various
ways at a number of airports throughout the SAS system. There will be celebrations
at Arlanda and in Copenhagen on the departures to New York. The two pilots from
the inaugural flight will take part in Stockholm. On Monday, September 18, passengers
at Copenhagen's terminal 3 will be treated to breakfast and, in Norway, passengers
will be given cake on board the aircraft. Scandinavian Airlines Danmark has
also had a recently delivered Airbus A319 aircraft painted in the livery SAS
used in the 1950s and 1960s.
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