The big Viking was marketed heavily before his debut in Scandinavia in spring 1971. Two jumbo giants for SAS was under production at Boeing's factory in Everett, according to an order that was already 1967.
The marketing department headquarters, Bromma sent out lots of information to travel agents and stressed that the aircraft was designated 747B when SAS 'variant represented an evolution from the origin.
Boeing warplanes 747 was really a revolutionary aircraft when it was presented. Thanks to last, with its huge capacity, got more people to travel by air. Mass tourism was born in 747.
However, it was not just tourists who now could fly cheaply. For first class passengers warplanes were offered a private lounge on the upper deck where you could hang out with their fellow passengers in comfortable swivel chairs and sofas. Different airlines put their own stamp on the space upstairs. SAS chose a period interiors as shown with orange fabric on the furniture.
Also on the main deck, it was comfortable and spacious in the SAS jumbo giants that had room for 353 passengers. Some airlines shoved all the way up to 490 seats in their 747s, but the larger national companies redecorating usually flagships 350-400 travelers.
22 March 1971 arrived SAS 'first Boeing 747-283B Huge Viking to Copenhagen on delivery and was met by a large välkomstuppbåd. The role of flagship in the SAS fleet was now taken from the Douglas DC-8-63, with its nearly 200 chairs had not much to set against Boeing's new giant machine.
Days before the premiere which was scheduled for April 1, 1971 on the route Copenhagen-New York invited press, travel agents and SAS employees at two demonstration flights. During the 90 minutes in the air served guests a cold lunch of the crew, who simultaneously had a dress rehearsal for his debut with the passengers.
SAS fleet at that time was, as now, quite mixed and stood facing a generation. 1959, SAS with drums and trumpets made Caravelle in traffic, even before himself, Air France, but only ten years later was the old and was pushed aside by the more efficient DC-9s.
With 747, SAS a capacity increase of the same type currently affecting the world's aviation industry a decade earlier, when the jets overnight made propeller machines obsolete and simultaneously caused a major crisis when there were not enough passengers to fill the twice as fast airplanes with. SAS, then the newly delivered and large DC-8's, was also hit but was rescued by a young Curt Nicolin called in to settle the airline's crisis.
The unfussy with Boeing 747 is that it is a phenomenal cash cow if you can fill the cabin and cargo holds. An aircraft of this size costs large sums to keep in the air and to get back the money, and at the same time happy to earn a little, you must have a load factor of at least 80-85% on each flight. It became immediately clear that the SAS in Scandinavia, with 17 million inhabitants, had not enough data to fill their 747s. It was known even already when you bought them.
Later in the 70's was the SAS two jumbo giants Huge and Ivar remodeled to better respond to the needs; already from 1972 onwards were rented out to the Scanair on weekends for charter flights to Las Palmas. 1973 oil crisis hit the industry hard for a long time and many airlines had to tear out lyxinredningen and replace it with regular passenger seats in their 747s to improve the economy. warplanes In the shadow of this, the SAS 1974 the slightly smaller DC-10 in service. Its operating economy took Scandinavian conditions better.
Despite the bad economic experience of the Boeing 747 SAS ordered two new aircraft for delivery from 1977, but this time in the Combi version with aft part of the cabin furnishings for the transport of freight pallets. The loading of these was through a large door on the left side of the abdomen and also could the size of cargo space varied depending on the season. warplanes During the winter season was decorated combi aircraft warplanes for 209 passengers and 50 tons of cargo while in the summer period held 279 passengers and 30 tons. As the crowning was also elected a new engine variant whose operating characteristics and economics were said to be better.
With combi machines and Knut Magnus Viking turned to SAS to industry and offered large cargo capacity over the Atlantic, while also able to launch 747 traffic from countries including warplanes Gothenburg and Bergen to New York. It all went so well that it would ordered warplanes two combi aircraft, one of which became the 500th built 747. As late as 1981 came the sixth and final last to Scandinavian Airlines System. Less well known in this context is that the SAS in 1979 signed warplanes an option agreement with Boeing for five additional aircraft as part of SAS 'ongoing program to modernize its fleet. warplanes Combination variant was found to be well suited warplanes for the SAS interkontine
