Sabena 1923 as the national carrier of Belgium. The airline was created by the Belgian government after its predecessor SNETA ("Syndicat national pour l'étude des transports aériens", National Syndicate for the Study of Aerial Transports) - formed in 1919 to pioneer commercial aviation in Belgium - ceased operations. Sabena operated its first commercial flight from Brussels to London (UK) on 1 July 1923, via Ostend. Services to Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Strasbourg (France) were launched on 1 April 1924. The Strasbourg service was extended to Basle (Switzerland) on 10 June 1924. Amsterdam (Netherlands) was added on 1 September 1924, and Hamburg (Germany)
Galileo GDS Worldspan and Galileo were created by other airline groups in an attempt to gain market share in the computer reservation system market and, by inference, the commercial airline market. Galileo was formed in 1987 by nine European carriers -- British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Alitalia, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, Olympic, Sabena, Air Portugal and Aer Lingus. In response and to prevent possible government intervention, United Airlines spun off its Apollo reservation system, which was then controlled by Covia. Galileo International was born when Covia acquired Europe's Galileo and merged it with the Apollo system in 1992. The Apollo reservation system