Events

‘Such a bad experience, never again.’ That snarky motto devised from the letters of Sabena’s name stuck like glue to Belgium’s national airline for as long as those of us old enough to remember can remember. The insult was perhaps partly deserved by that late stage in the company’s history, but alas, 10 years ago Sabena went belly up, and now we miss it. The pioneering carrier, founded in 1923, made its first long-haul flight to the Congo – the trip took five and a half days—in 1935. Romance, adventure, brave captains and gracious ‘hostesses’, smartly dressed passengers... those were the days, and they, along with all the others in the airlines’ 78-year history, are evoked in this commemorative show.