How it started
History
The airline was founded on 1 August 1946 when Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, AB Aerotransport, and Det Norske Luftfartselskap AS (the flag carriers of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) formed a partnership to handle intercontinental traffic to Scandinavia. Operations started on 17 September 1946. The companies then started coordination of European operations in 1948 and finally merged to form the current SAS Consortium in 1951. When established, the airline was divided between SAS Danmark (28.6%), SAS Norge (28.6%), and SAS Sweden (42.8%), all owned 50% by private investors and 50% by their respective governments. SAS gradually acquired control of the domestic markets in all three countries by acquiring full or partial control of several local airlines. In May 1997, SAS formed the global Star Alliance network with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International, and United Airlines.
Predecessors and unification
The SAS Group has its origins in 1918 with the founding of AB Aerotransport (ABA), the Swedish parent company of SAS. In 1920, Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), the Danish parent company, was established. DDL was listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1924. In 1927, Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), the Norwegian parent company, was founded.
In 1946, SAS was formed from Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), and Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (SILA). The first intercontinental flight was from Stockholm Arlanda to New York. In 1951, DDL, DNL, and ABA formed the present SAS Consortium.
Early years
From Wikipedia’s article on SAS Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2