Braathens, until 1998 known as Braathens SAFE, was a Norwegian scheduled and charter airline which operated from 1946 to 2004.[1] The airline had 118 aircraft of 15 different models. The airline has used three or more models each from Douglas, Fokker and Boeing, as well as the de Havilland Heron and British Aerospace 146. The airline's most-operated aircraft is the Boeing 737-200, of which it had 20. Braathens has operated five variants of the 737, totaling 64 aircraft.[2][3] Two aircraft have been involved in hull-loss accidents.[1]
The airline was founded by ship-owner Ludvig G. Braathen and originally served destinations in Asia.[4] The original fleet consisted of Douglas aircraft; these were first used for long-haul flights, but were gradually increasing used for medium- and short-haul charter services.[5] In 1954, the airline started domestic services,[6] and until 1987, all its scheduled routes were domestic.[7] However, it continued to fly charter services from both Norway and Sweden, mostly to the Mediterranean.[8] Domestically, it used a fleet of Herons, which were replaced with Fokker F-27s from 1958. In 1969, the airline became the launch customer of the Fokker F-28[9] and also took delivery of Boeing 737-200 aircraft. The jet aircraft were at first used on charter, but later also used domestically.[10] All later deliveries would consist of Boeing aircraft; after 1977, Braathens has only operated jets. From 1986 to 1989, the airline operated only the 737-200. By 1994, they were all replaced with 737-400 and -500.[2] From 1997, Braathens entered the Swedish domestic market, purchasing Transwede and Malmö Aviation,[11] giving the airline a wider range of aircraft, including 737-700, Fokker 100 and BAe 146.[12] The losses suffered under a price war with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Color Air caused the airline to be taken over by the SAS Group in 2001,[13][14] and merged to form SAS Braathens in 2004.[12]
From the beginning, all Braathens' aircraft livery had a thick red and thinner white and blue cheatline, with the Flag of Norway on the vertical stabilizer.[15] With only slight modifications, this general concept was continued all the way including the 737 Classics.[16] From 1998, Braathens SAFE changed its brand name to Braathens, and changed its corporate identity and livery, using a stylized grey wing as its logo. With the delivery of the 737-700, and consequently repainted older aircraft, received a blue bottom, no cheatline, and a blue vertical stabilizer with the stylized wing.[17] The livery was changed again in 1999, when the design of the vertical stabilizers was changed and replaced with the Flag of Norway.[18][19] Only some of the Douglas aircraft were named, and those that were, were called "Norse" followed by a description, such as Norse Commander and Norse Skyfarer. The Heron aircraft were given common Norwegian male names: Per, Ola, Pål and Lars. Starting with the three last F-27s, Braathens started naming their aircraft for kings of Norway. From the delivery of the F-28s and 737s, all aircraft were thus named. Once aircraft were retired, the names were often reused on new aircraft.[2]
The following is a list of aircraft operated by Braathens. The list excludes aircraft which were owned, but never operated by, Braathens, and aircraft which were never delivered, even though they were given registration codes. The former consists of a 206 Super Skywagon which was owned by Braathens SAFE, but operated by Bjørumfly between 1964 and 1966.[20][21] The latter consists of a Douglas DC-6 which was never delivered in 1964.[21] The list consists of an image, the manufacturer, the model, the total number of aircraft operated by the airline (although the peak number operated may be lower), the year the model was first introduced, the year the last aircraft was taken out of service, and a description of the aircraft's use.
| Image | Manufacturer | Model | Quantity | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | C-54 Skymaster | 6 | 1947 | 1966 | Used military versions of the Douglas DC-4, the C-54 were bought for charter services to the Far East and South America.[22] These services stopped in 1952, after which the airline reduced its fleet to no more than two aircraft.[21] One was wet leased to Loftleiðir and operated on transatlantic flights via Iceland.[23] Occasionally they were occasionally used on domestic flights.[23] From 1959, the aircraft were also used for Mediterranean charters.[24] | |
| Douglas | C-47 Dakota | 2 | 1947 | 1964 | C-47, a converted military version of the Douglas DC-3, was bought for short-haul charter, mostly to Europe.[25] From the 1950s, they occasionally supplementing domestic services.[23] They were replaced with the F-27.[26] | |
| — | de Havilland | DH.114 Heron | 7 | 1952 | 1960 | The aircraft were bought to allow Braathens SAFE to start domestic services. The small size allowed the airline to serve regional airports.[27] One aircraft crashed in the Hummelfjell Accident.[28] Because of increased traffic, the airline replaced the Herons with Friendships.[29] |
| Fokker | F-27-100 Friendship | 8 | 1958 | 1977 | Braathens was the second airline to take delivery of the airliner, to replace the DC-3s and Herons. At first the Friendships were put into the main domestic routes,[26] and by 1960, all domestic flights were being flown using F-27s.[23] They were replaced with F-28 aircraft on domestic routes,[9] although some of the smallest routes continued to be flown with F-27s operated by Busy Bee.[30] | |
| Douglas | DC-6A/C | 1 | 1961 | 1965 | The aircraft was bought to allow higher-pax Mediterranean charter flights.[24] Unlike the B-series, it had a cargo door, which was not needed for charter flights, and the aircraft was sold parallel with Braathens buying five DC-6B in 1965 and 1966.[31] | |
| Douglas | DC-6B | 7 | 1962 | 1973 | The aircraft were bought for Braathens' charter services, mostly to the Mediterranean.[24] All were used, most of them from Transair.[31] It was also occasionally used for domestic flights, including regularly from 1967.[32] All but one of the aircraft were phased out between 1969 and 1971 with the delivery of jet aircraft. The last aircraft remained for flights to Svalbard Airport.[33] | |
| Fokker | F-28-1000 Fellowship | 6 | 1969 | 1986 | After discarding purchasing the 737-100,[34] Braathens became the launch customer of the F-28. They replaced the F-27 on most domestic routes.[9] One aircraft crashed in Flight 239 in 1972.[35] Since then Braathens had a fleet of four aircraft, which were used on the least-trafficked domestic routes. They aircraft were sold along with the 767 to create a unified fleet.[36] | |
| Boeing | 737-200 | 20 | 1969 | 1994 | Braathens was the second customer of the -200 series and the third customer of the 737.[37] The aircraft were originally ordered for the main charter routes,[10] but they gradually took over most of the domestic work. The last six aircraft were delivered in 1986, after which for three years Braathens only operated the single model.[38] They were phased out between 1990 and 1994.[2] | |
| Boeing | 767-200 | 2 | 1984 | 1986 | The aircraft were bought for both domestic scheduled and international charter use. The aircraft were too large for the domestic scheduled services, but did not have a dense enough seat configuration to make it economic for charter flights. Unprofitable, the aircraft were sold after two years.[39] | |
| Boeing | 737-400 | 7 | 1989 | 2004 | Originally intended to be used for charter flights, Braathens decided to replace all its aircraft with 737 Classics. Although also used for scheduled services, the -400 remained primarily a charter aircraft.[40] The remaining aircraft were transferred to SAS Braathens.[12] | |
| Boeing | 737-500 | 17 | 1990 | 2004 | Boeing developed the -500 with the same capacity as the -200, after among others requests from Braathens.[41] The aircraft were delivered between 1990 and 1994, allowing the -200s to be retired.[2] Along with the -400s, Braathens could establish a unified fleet with the same type rating and became the main part of the fleet.[41] The remaining aircraft were transferred to SAS Braathens.[12] | |
| Fokker | 100 | 5 | 1997 | 1999 | The aircraft were inherited after the take-over of Transwede. Used for domestic services in Sweden, they were sold after Braathens terminated its Swedish services.[42] | |
| Boeing | 737-300 | 1 | 1997 | 1999 | The single aircraft was inherited after the take-over of Transwede and used in domestic routes in Sweden.[43] Originally Braathens planned to replace all its Transwede-aircraft with 737-300, but the plans fell short.[44] The aircraft was sold in 1999 after the closure of the domestic services in Sweden.[42] | |
| Boeing | 737-700 | 13 | 1998 | 2004 | The aircraft were bought to increase Braathens' fleet ahead of the opening of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, after which the airline increased its routes considerably.[45] The remaining aircraft were transferred to SAS Braathens.[12] | |
| British Aerospace | 146-200 | 10 | 1998 | 2001 | The aircraft were inherited after the take-over of Transwede and Malmö Aviation.[46][47] They allowed the airline to operate at the short runways at at Stockholm-Bromma Airport and London City Airport.[48] The aircraft were sold in 2001, after Malmö Aviation was spun off.[49] |
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