In Memoriam

My first flight on Sabena was in 1972. I was 24 and looking for a cheap way to get to Europe. All the airlines had youth fares to Europe for people up to 21, but Sabena offered a youth fare ($200, rt) for up to age 25. I remember well that first visit to Brussels, the Spanish musicians late at night in the Grande Place, the disapponting visit to the shabby Atomium.

Later, Sabena became my airline of choice to Europe, again because of price. Council Travel , Boston's best bucket shop, sold tickets to BRU on Sabena for hundreds of $$ less than any other airline, except maybe Loftleider or charters. Everything about Belgium and Brussels was foul (I hadn't yet discovered the Vigaufra waffle stands), but Sabena was cheap. In the 80s, Sabena was the K-Mart of European flag carriers: the equipment and cabin crew were seriously dated, and they were just about the last airline to stop charging for drinks on trans-Atlantic flights.

By the time I found myself married to a Belgian, frequent flier programs were in and Sabena was out, for me at least. Mother-in-law visits to the US inevitably involved Sabena, though, and she reliably reported decent flights, indifferent service, and la carbonnade traditionelle. It seemed that Sabena was pulling itself out of the lowest tier of carriers—their planes were newer, the flights more likely to be on time.

I view Sabena's demise with mixed feelings. As a consumer, I've consistently chosen alternatives to Sabena in the past 15 years, but less competition is always bad news for consumers. I feel sorry for Sabena's employees—I'm sure many of them never conceived it a real possibility that their jobs would evaporate. Sabena's service usually fell well short of other lines; however, the blame for that must lie with the company's management and the priorities that they established.

The name is actually an acronym, Societe
Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aerienne (and not Sauf Accident, Bien Entendu, Nous Arriverons, nor any of the others). Tot ziens Sabena; rest in peace.