Sabena taken delivery of two Douglas DC-3s. During the war the airline managed to maintain its Belgian Congo routes, but all European services ceased. After the war, in 1946 Sabena resumed operating a network of intra-European scheduled services. The fleet initially consisted mainly of Douglas DC-3s. There were thousands of surplus Douglas C-47 Skytrains (the military variant of the DC-3) available to help airlines restart operations after the war. The airline now flew under the name of SABENA - Belgian World Airlines. Sabena started its first transatlantic route to New York City on 4 June 1946, initially using unpressurised Douglas DC-4
Alcazar (airline) States started negotiating open skies agreements with the European Union (EU), which would allow any European airline to fly from any airport in their home country to any airport in the US, and similarly any US airline to fly from any US airport to any European airport. In the 1980s, SAS, Swissair, Austrian Airlines and Finnair had attempted to establish European Quality Alliance (EQA). In addition to codesharing and joint marketing, the alliance was largely based around technical issues and using the EQA brand as a "seal of quality". These had largely stranded because Finnair felt that SAS goal was