page_title: History of Braathens SAFE (1946–93)
section_title: Concession
hierarchical_section_title: History of Braathens SAFE (1946–93) / Concession
caption_attribution_description: English: Oslo Airport, Fornebu on opening day: 1 July 1939. In the background a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft from Det Danske Luftfartselskab.
context_page_description: Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S or Braathens SAFE was founded by ship-owner Ludvig G. Braathen in 1946. It started as a charter airline based at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway, flying to destinations in the Far East and in South America. At first the airline used Douglas DC-4s, and later also Douglas DC-3s. In 1948, the airline moved to Oslo Airport, Fornebu and started regular scheduled flights to the Far East. In 1952, the airline started cooperation with the Icelandic airline Loftleidir, where until 1960 the two airlines in cooperation flew flights to Reykjavík. Domestic services started in 1951, using de Havilland Herons on a route from Oslo to Stavanger via Tønsberg. Braathens SAFE also established at Stavanger Airport, Sola. A second route was started two years later to Trondheim. The Heron routes also stopped in Farsund, Kristiansand, Notodden to Stavanger and Hamar, Røros to Trondheim.
  In 1958, Braathens SAFE started flying to Ålesund and at the same time started flights along the West Coast. In 1959, Fokker F-27s were taken into use, and with the Herons taken out of service, Hamar, Farsund and Tønsberg were terminated.
context_section_description: During World War II, the civil aviation planning was conducted by the Aviation Council. In 1945, they started a limited number of flights that were operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. On 2 July 1946, the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, several large shipping companies and other private investors reestablished Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL), with the state owning 20% and the shipping companies 49%. This airline was granted a 20-year monopoly on domestic and international flights. According to the concession, only routes that DNL were not willing to fly themselves, could be granted to other airlines.
  By 1948, Braathens SAFE's routes were so regular that several countries stated that a bilateral agreement would have to be negotiated for them to continue. However, the concession that had been granted to DNL did not allow Braathens to fly any scheduled flights. Braathens SAFE applied for fifteen-year concession on 5 February 1948; Minister of Transport Nils Langhelle from the Labor Party knew that he would be violating DNL's concession by granting Braathens SAFE a concession, but at the same time he was worried that Braathens SAFE could easily flag out to another country, from which DNL would receive no protection. The exception in DNL's concession could not be used, since DNL declared that they, through the Scandinavian cooperation Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), were planning to start a route to the far east. The Directorate for Civil Aviation stated that it was unlikely that DNL/SAS would start such a route within a few years, and recommended Langhelle that Braathens SAFE be granted the route. Concession was granted by the Norwegian Parliament on 3 February 1949, with a duration of five years. The airline had to follow the route Oslo or Stavanger – Amsterdam – Geneva – Rome – Cairo – Basra – Karachi – Bombay – Calcutta – Bangkok – Hong Kong. The concession was made conditional that Braathens SAFE built a technical base at Stavanger Airport, Sola.
  The Hong Kong-route was officially opened on 5 August 1949. Braathens SAFE had then moved its operative base from Gardermoen to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company stationed technical employees in Rome, Karachi, Bangkok and Hong Kong, as well as having an agreement with KLM. The planes would stop each night and crew and passengers would stay at a hotel. Cabin crew had no training, and learned the job as they worked. Chicken was the most common lunch meal, and the cabin crew had to purchase this fresh each day, usually observing the slaughter to ensure its freshness. In 1949, sixty-seven flights were made to Hong Kong, as well as two to Tokyo, to Venezuela and one to Johannesburg.
  In 1950, it became increasingly clear that the SAS-cooperation was weak, and that either a full merger or a discontinuation of the cooperation would be necessary. Braathen suggested to the government that DNL, Fred. Olsen Airtransport and Braathens SAFE should merge to create a new domestic airline, but this proposal was rejected by both DNL and Fred. Olsen. In 1949, the Swedish branch of SAS, Aerotransport (ABA), and the Danish branch, Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL) started a joint route to the Far East. For a merger to be completed, Danish and Swedish authorities required that SAS be granted all international routes from Norway, meaning that Braathens SAFE would lose its concession from 1 March 1954. The SAS merger was completed on 8 August 1951.
  Braathens SAFE applied for a concession on a route from Norway to New York on 27 March 1950. This would allow the airline to connect the route to the Hong Kong-flights, giving one continual service. The proposal would involve the purchase of Douglas DC-6B or Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation aircraft. The proposal was rejected by the government on 19 April. The following year, Braathens SAFE applied to extend the route to Tokyo, but this was also rejected by the government. In 1951, the company applied to purchase two Super Constellations to replace two sold DC-4s, which was granted, and on 14 January 1953 for an extension of
caption: From 1948, Oslo Airport, Fornebu was Braathens SAFE's main base
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