SN Brussels Airlines and regional investment companies, as well as the Brussels and Walloon governments) set up SN Airholding, headed by Étienne Davignon. After the 2001 collapse of Sabena, Belgium's flag carrier airline, Belgium was left without a national airline. In February 2002, SN Airholding took over the Belgian airline DAT, a subsidiary of Sabena, and changed its trading name to SN Brussels Airlines. In 2002, a strategic reorganization started, led by the former CEO Peter Davies. On 12 April 2005 SN Brussels took holding control of Virgin Express and on 31 March 2006 they announced their merger. On 7 November 2006 they
Alcazar (airline) Sabena. In addition, they had a strong tie with Northwest Airlines. In 1989, KLM bought 20 percent of the then ailing airline. In 1992, KLM had made a bailout purchase of Northwest, securing a 25 percent ownership of the airline, which is the maximum a foreign airline is allowed to own in a US airline. Swissair cooperated with Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines in a triangular cooperation, which was highly valued by the company's management. Delta was significantly larger than the other two US partner airlines, and had a base in New York City, rather than Northwest's hubs in