Linjeflyg was a Swedish domestic airline, formed in 1957 as a domestic subsidiary by
Scandinavian Airlines System and Airtaco as well as by newspaper publishers
Dagens Nyheter 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 tog ...
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 air ...
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 version ...
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
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 ...
in the central part of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
to
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in the north of Stockholm. Bromma had been the main hub for Linjeflyg since 1957. On 10 September 1990
Scandinavian Airlines System (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 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 operator in the world.
Fleet
Incidents and accidents
*On 20 November 1964
Flight 267V, operated by
Convair 440 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 SE-FOZ leased from
Skyline, crashed at
Kälvesta
Kälvesta is a suburban district in the Hässelby-Vällingby borough in western Stockholm. Most of Kälvesta was built during the late 1960s and the 1970s. Kälvesta has two middle schools (Sörgårdsskolan and Björnbodaskolan). The two buses 11 ...
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 commerci ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
owing to ice accretion on the tailplane leading to a loss of control. All 22 people on board were killed.
See also
*
SAS Group
SAS AB (Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag), trading as SAS Group, is an airline holding company headquartered in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines and S ...
*
Scandinavian Airlines
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 Denmark ...
*
List of defunct airlines of Europe
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