Sabena airliners which were augmented and later replaced by Douglas DC-6Bs. The DC-4s also restarted the airline's traditional route to the Belgian Congo. Sabena was the first airline to introduce transatlantic schedules from the north of England, when one of its DC-6Bs inaugurated the Brussels-Manchester-New York route on 28 October 1953. The Convair 240 was introduced in 1949 to partially replace the DC-3s that until then had flown most European services. As of 1956, improved Convair 440 "Metropolitan" twins began replacing the Convair 240 twins and were used successfully well into the 1960s between European regional destinations. In 1957, the long-range
European Regions Airline Association was given to Southampton Airport, in Hampshire in southern England. It also organizes a "European regional airline of the year" award, which was attributed to: European Regions Airline Association The European Regions Airline Association is the principal trade association representing intra-European regional airlines. It represents 52 airlines and 139 service providers (2017). The European Regions Airline Association was founded as the European Regional Airlines Association in 1980, by a small number of what were then known as "commuter airlines". The association is registered as a limited company in England & Wales. In the 2000s, the line between low-cost airlines serving