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| Founded | 30 July 1946 (1946-07-30) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 15 October 1946 (1946-10-15) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 19 January 2004 (2004-01-19) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Brussels Airport | ||||||
| Parent company |
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Société Belge des Transports par AirSA, known by its short formSobelair, was aBelgian charter airline that operated from 1946 to 2004. It was headquartered inBrussels[2] (later inZaventem)[3] and operated mostly non-scheduled passenger and cargo flights out ofBrussels Airport.[4]
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Sobelair was founded as a charter airline on 30 July 1946, originally (only during the initial months) known asSociété d'Etude et de Transports Aériens, abbreviatedSETA.[5] The first revenue flight using aDouglas DC-3 aircraft, which took place on 15 October of that year, was a flowers transport toNice viaParis. In 1947, scheduled flights from Brussels toElisabethville inBelgian Congo were launched on behalf of several companies in the Belgian colony, which held the majority of the stakes in the company. In 1949, these shares were acquired by Belgianflag carrierSabena, which thus owned 72.29 percent in Sobelair.[6]
WhenRepublic of the Congo (Léopoldville) was founded as an independent state in the former Belgian Congo, Sobelair ceased its African service, and concentrated on offering chartered holiday flights to the Mediterranean instead, as well as (between 1957 and 1962) domestic routes using smallCessna 310 airplanes.[5][6]
Sobelair joined thejet age in 1971, when the firstCaravelle was acquired second-hand from Sabena. Over the following years, the fleet was further modernized withBoeing 707 aircraft, which stayed until 1988. By then, Sobelair operated a fleet composed exclusively of smallerBoeing 737 airliners. Long haul flights were relaunched only in 1994, using a newly boughtBoeing 767-300.[6]
WhenSwissair started an alliance with Sabena in 1995, plans were made for a co-operation of the respective charter subsidiaries. Thus, Sobelair went into negotiation with theSwiss subsidiary ofTrans European Airways in 1996, which turned out to be fruitless. Instead, an agreement was signed withCrossair. In 1997, Sobelair operated chartered passenger flights fromZürich toSan Francisco andLas Vegas on behalf of Swissair. In the late 1990s, a charter contract with tour operatorJetair was signed. In 2001, further agreements withALM Antillean Airlines andBalair were secured.[6]
In October 2001, Swissair went bankrupt, which was followed by the demise of partner Sabena in November of the same year, which led to the future of Sobelair becoming uncertain, too.Delta Air Transport, which the Sabenaslots had been transferred to, briefly considered taking over Sobelair's 767s for the re-launch of scheduled passenger flights to Africa (instead,Birdy Airlines was founded for that purpose), and German tour operatorPreussag went into negotiations concerning a taking-over of the airline, which were dropped again in February 2002.[6]
After having been acquired by a group of investors in June 2002, which led to the launch of scheduled flights on the Brussels-Johannesburg route, Sobelair was passed on toSN Brussels Airlines in early 2003, for which it operated charter flights henceforth. This did not lead to an improvement of the financial situation, and Sobelair declared bankruptcy in January 2004.TUI Travel placed an offer for taking over Sobelair's aircraft in order to create a Belgian airline subsidiary, provided thatcreditor protection would be granted. On 19 January, this measure was rejected, so that Sobelair went out of business and its then approximately 450 employees lost their jobs.[6][7]
Over the nearly 60 years of its existence, Sobelair operated the following aircraft types:[1][8]
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| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Number in fleet upon closure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4 | 1993 | 1999 | — | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 2000 | 2000 | 1 | Leased fromTransAer International Airlines. |
| Boeing 707 | 1974 | 1989 | — | |
| Boeing 720 | — | |||
| Boeing 727 | 1995 | 1996 | — | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1978 | 1997 | — | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1987 | 2004 | 3 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 1990 | 2004 | 4 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 2002 | 2004 | 2 | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 1994 | 2004 | 5 | |
| Cessna 310 | 1957 | 1961 | — | |
| Douglas DC-3 | 1946 | — | ||
| Douglas DC-4 | 1947 | 1961 | — | |
| Douglas DC-6 | 1961 | 1970 | — | |
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 1968 | 1971 | — | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 1994 | 1994 | — | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1994 | 1994 | — | |
| Sud Aviation Caravelle | 1971 | 1978 | — |
