SABENA

abbreviation of Socit Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Arienne (French: Belgian Limited-Liability Company for the Development of Aerial Navigation), Belgian airline formed on May 23, 1923. Its initial passenger and cargo services extended from Brussels to Amsterdam and to Strasbourg, France, and Basel, Switz. Until 1960 public and private ownership of shares was almost equal; recapitalization afterward resulted in about 90 percent ownership by the Belgian government. Headquarters are in Brussels. SABENA's subsidiaries consist principally of airlines and hotel chains. SABENA's first efforts in the 1920s were to establish a network across Belgium linking London and Cologne, France and Scandinavia, and the Low Countries and Switzerland. In 1925 air service began within Belgium's major colony, the Belgian Congo (now Congo [Kinshasa]), though regularly scheduled service between Brussels and Lopoldville (Kinshasa) did not begin until 1935. World War II interrupted further development, but the postwar recovery led to a new expansion of networks, soon exceeding those of 1939. The BrusselsNew York service was inaugurated in 1947. By the late 20th century SABENA's routes reached throughout the Low Countries and the major cities and resorts of Europe and also overseas to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Japan.