Linjeflyg was a Swedish domestic airline, formed in 1957 as a domestic subsidiary by

Scandinavian Airlines System Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmar ...

and Airtaco as well as by newspaper publishers

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ' ...

AB and

Stockholms-Tidningen ''Stockholms-Tidningen'' ( Swedish: ''The Stockholm Times'') was a Swedish-language morning newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1889 and 1984 with an interruption from 1966 to 1981. It was one of the major dailies in the country to ...

AB.

History

Airtaco (founded in August 1950 as Aero Scandia) can be considered as Linjeflyg's predecessor and was merged into the new airline, including its entire fleet.Svensk flyghistoria under 1900-talet, S. 170-171 When Linjeflyg was founded, Airtaco's four

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the ai ...

s and four

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

s were integrated into the new fleet.''Linjeflyg – de första fem åren''. Svensk Flyghistorisk Tidskrift, ISSN 1100-9837, February 2018 (Swedish), p. 45. In October 1983 Linjeflyg moved from Stockholm-Bromma Airport in the central part of Stockholm to

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport Stockholm Arlanda Airport is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly south-east of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County and the pr ...

in the north of Stockholm. Bromma had been the main hub for Linjeflyg since 1957. On 10 September 1990

(SAS) sold their 50% in Linjeflyg to Bilspedition for 475 million Swedish crowns (SEK). Approximately six months later SAS bought it back. In February 1992 Linjeflyg became too big a threat for SAS, because it planned a strategic alliance with

Braathens Braathens ASA, until 1997 Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S and trading as Braathens SAFE, was a Norwegian airline which operated from 1946 until it merged with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in 2004 to become SAS Braathens. ...

and

Maersk Air (), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line a ...

. Such an alliance would have been too competitive for SAS on the intra-Scandinavian capital routes and on domestic flights. Consequently SAS bought up the 50% of Linjeflyg that it did not already own, to maintain its market dominance. On 1 January 1993 Linjeflyg was merged into SAS. Linjeflyg was Sweden's largest domestic airline. It served over 20 domestic airports and carried over 5 million people annually. Linjeflyg had 2200 employees in 1992, and was at that time the largest

Fokker F28 The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional airliner, ...

operator in the world.

Fleet

Incidents and accidents

*On 20 November 1964 Flight 267V, operated by

Convair 440 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

SE-CCK, crashed during an approach to Ängelholm joint civil/military Airport. In instrument conditions, the crew abandoned the set procedure and began the final approach too early. The reason for this must have been that the crew allowed themselves to be misled by an arrangement of lights peculiar to the airfield with which, apart from certain information received during the approach, they were not acquainted. Thirty-one of the 43 people aboard were killed in Sweden's worst air disaster. *On 15 January 1977 Flight 618, operated by

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

SE-FOZ leased from

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skyline ...

, crashed at Kälvesta on approach to

Bromma Airport Bromma Stockholm Airport (formerly Stockholm-Bromma Flygplats) is a Swedish domestic and minor international airport in Stockholm. It is located west-northwest of downtown Stockholm and is the closest to the city compared to the other commercial ...

, Stockholm owing to ice accretion on the tailplane leading to a loss of control. All 22 people on board were killed.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Edlund, Ulf; Andersson, Lennart; Berns, Lennart; Stridsberg, Sven: ''Svensk flyghistoria under 1900-talet''. Stockholm: Svensk Flyghistorisk Förening, 2003. ISSN 1100-9837.

External links

linjeflyg.info - private website about Linjeflyg
{{Portal bar, Sweden, Companies, Aviation Defunct airlines of Sweden Airlines established in 1957 Airlines disestablished in 1993 SAS Group Swedish companies established in 1957 Swedish companies disestablished in 1993