The Sud-Est SE210 Caravelle has a special place in the history of Scandinavian Airlines System. SAS was one of the type's first operators, and the second to use it on regular services. The carrier's inaugural revenue-earning Caravelle flight took place on 15 May 1959, on the Stockholm-Copenhagen-Cairo route, just nine days after Air France had introduced the new twin-jet. It proved extremely popular among crews and travellers alike. Air travel was in vogue, and the elegant French aeroplane was a real hit. The song Caravelle Samba entered the Swedish charts and was performed in the cabin on a few flights, much to the delight of passengers. The name Caravelle was used for a brand of tobacco, as well as a plethora of other tilings. Between 1959 and 1974, SAS operated 21 Caravelle I, IA and Ⅲ variants on European and Near East routes. The Is and IAs were later modified to Series Ⅲ standard. Another four SAS-owned Caravelles were immediately leased to, and later purchased outright by, Swissair. Another early operator was the Finnish airline Aero Oy, renamed Finnair in 1968. It flew a small number of Caravelle IIIs until 1964, subsequently trading them in for larger and more powerful Caravelle 10Bs. The last of those was withdrawn from use in 1987.
展开▼
