Scandinavian Airlines
Scandinavian Airlines operated six Boeing 747-200s — three of them Combis — between 1971 and 1988, flying the 'Vikings' to New York, Tokyo and Bangkok and pioneering Combi freight on the North Atlantic.
Scandinavian Airlines was a 747 operator for just seventeen years, but it used the aircraft in two ways that suited the airline’s geography: on long-haul passenger routes, and as a Combi hauling freight alongside passengers.
The Vikings
SAS took its first two 747-200Bs in February 1971, naming them in its tradition of Norse figures — Huge Viking and Ivar Viking. They flew Copenhagen–New York and a Copenhagen–Tokyo service marketed as the Trans-Siberian Express, using the trans-Siberian route across the Soviet Union. A third followed in 1981; Dan Viking was the 500th 747 built.
The cabins were configured for comfort rather than density, with around 353 seats at generous pitch and a first-class lounge on the upper deck.
The Combis
From 1977 SAS added three 747-283B/SCD Combis, which carried cargo behind a bulkhead on the main deck. One flew a freight-centred Copenhagen–Gothenburg– Bergen–New York routing, used to export Norwegian farmed salmon to the United States — a small but pointed example of what the Combi could do that a pure freighter or a pure airliner could not. Passenger 747 services ended in 1985, with the remaining aircraft running as freighters until the last left in 1987–88.
One hull loss
An SAS Combi, Magnus Viking, was lost in 1983 while on lease to Avianca, in the crash near Madrid known as Avianca Flight 011. It was the only SAS 747 hull loss.
Related
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the primary and institutional references below.
- List of aircraft operated by Scandinavian Airlines — Wikipedia
- What happened to SAS's Boeing 747s? — Simple Flying
- SAS Boeing 747 fleet — Hilmerby
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