Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik
Encyclopedia
Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB, SILA, Swedish Intercontinental Airlines, was an airline and is today a part of the SAS Group
.
SILA was established in 1943 under the name Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB by the Wallenberg family
to start a flight between Sweden and England. The first CEO of the airline was Per Norlin. In 1943, he signed a contract with Douglas to buy 10 DC-4 with delivery when the war had ended.
The first civil flight between Europe and USA was in June 1945 with a modified Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with stops at Reykjavík
and Newfoundland
.
During spring 1946, the B-17 was replaced by Douglas DC-4s.
In 1946, SILA became the Swedish part of SAS and in 1948 the airline was merged in to AB Aerotransport
in 1948. SILA was closed down in 1977.
SAS Group
Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag , trading as SAS Group and SAS AB, is a holding company based in Solna, Sweden. It is the parent company of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, Blue1 and Widerøe, and the aviation services companies SAS Business Opportunities, SAS Cargo Group, SAS Ground...
.
SILA was established in 1943 under the name Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB by the Wallenberg family
Wallenberg family
The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish banking family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
to start a flight between Sweden and England. The first CEO of the airline was Per Norlin. In 1943, he signed a contract with Douglas to buy 10 DC-4 with delivery when the war had ended.
The first civil flight between Europe and USA was in June 1945 with a modified Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress with stops at Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
and Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
.
During spring 1946, the B-17 was replaced by Douglas DC-4s.
In 1946, SILA became the Swedish part of SAS and in 1948 the airline was merged in to AB Aerotransport
AB Aerotransport
AB Aerotransport was a Swedish airline, that is today part of the SAS Group.ABA was established in 1924 under the name Aktiebolaget Aerotransport by Carl and Adrian Florman. The first flight was on 2 June 1924 between Stockholm and Helsinki with a Junkers F.13 aircraft...
in 1948. SILA was closed down in 1977.