Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB, SILA, trading internationally as Swedish Intercontinental Airlines, was an airline formed in 1943[1] by banker Marcus Wallenberg Jr.[2][3] An early president of the airline was Per Norlin.[4] In August 1946 with Danish Air Lines and Norwegian Air Lines it became a part of a three-airline consortium[5] (later four, with AB Aerotransport) that would eventually merge on 30 June 1948 with a pooled capitalization of $25 million as Scandinavian Airlines.[6] The airline operated Douglas DC-4[7] and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft.
In 1946, the company was asked by a group of Jewish Americans if it could transport about two thousand wealthy Jewish Poles out of Poland, to then fly to the United States to resettle there. Given a scarcity of aircraft (SILA operated only a twice-weekly schedule between Stockholm and Warsaw), the airline was not able to take action on the request.[8] The airline was also a part of the 1946 introduction of United States airmail service to Copenhagen and Stockholm.[9]
References
- ^ "Sweden Plans a Big Merger of Airlines". Messenger-Inquirer. Owensboro, Kentucky. Associated Press. October 23, 1947. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ Millbrooke, Anne (2008). Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Alphabets of Aviation. Xlibris US. p. 556. ISBN 9781462818433.
- ^ Buraas, Anders (1972). Fly over fly: Historien om SAS (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. ISBN 82-05-00891-4.
- ^ "Urges Agreement on Ocean Air Rate". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 5, 1946. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Scandanavian Air System Is Formed". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Associated Press. August 19, 1946. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "All Scandinavian Air Lines to Merge". Boston Globe. February 11, 1948. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "International Airlines Now Operating Douglas DC-4 Equipment". San Francisco Examiner. August 29, 1946. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Asked Passage for Jews: Swedish Air Line Official Discloses Request for Transport". Kansas City Star. Associated Press. January 5, 1946. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Air Mail Flights to Denmark, Sweden". The News-Messenger. Fremont, Ohio. September 23, 1946. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
This page was last edited on 20 March 2023, at 10:09