Sabena Boeing 747s with four-engined Airbus A340. After the liberalisation of the airline industry throughout Europe and the economic consequences of the Gulf War, the Belgian government, the main shareholder of the company, realized that Sabena had little chance of surviving on its own in this very competitive market, and began searching for a suitable partner. Sabena remained in a poor financial state, and year after year the Belgian government had to cover losses, however, it was however prevented from providing new funds due to EU State Aid rules. Around 1987, SAS tried to merge with the carrier, but the merger
European Coastal Airlines European Coastal Airlines European Coastal Airlines was a Croatian seaplane operator headquartered in Split. Founded in 2000, the company launched scheduled services in August 2014 and served domestic flights within Croatia as well as services to nearby Italy. The company was established in September 2000, by the Croatian company Obalna Kapitalna Ulaganja d.o.o. from Zagreb, Croatia, and European SeaPlane Service (ESPS) GmbH, from Landsberied, Germany. The airline flew promotional flights using a restored vintage Grumman Goose in 2000. The "Slobodna Dalmacija" daily reported in August 2002 that the company had acquired licences to land at 25 destinations around the Croatian