ABA - AB Aerotransport
(Swedish Air Lines)

Sweden

*

ABA - AB Aerotransport flew its first flight in the summer of 1924 between Stockholm and Helsinki.

Before WWII, ABA operated the Scandinavian Air Express jointly with KLM between Scandinavia and London/Paris via Amsterdam, and jointly with Aero O/Y between Sweden and Finland. Several different Scandinavian Air Express timetables were published, often showing ABA's entire network.

Operations were curtailed during the war, though maintained on a limited basis, including courier flights to and from Scotland.

In 1948, ABA merged with SILA, the Swedish intercontinental airline, which was the Swedish part of the SAS consortium, also consisting of DDL - Danish Air Lines and DNL - Norwegian Air Lines. In the process, ABA took over the Swedish share of SAS. SAS - Scandinavian Airlines System had been founded in 1946, initially to operate the intercontinental routes of its owners. Also in 1948, the European and domestic routes of these airlines were flown under the SAS banner. In 1951, all routes were transferred to SAS in its own rights. From then on, ABA acted as the Swedish holding company of SAS, being renamed SAS Sverige in the mid-nineties. It ceased to exist as a separate company in 2009.

*

(Summer) 1924
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

1925
(Shows flights "opened May 15th, 1925")
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)
Click for a view of the interior

BL

June 5, 1925
Click for larger view
Click for a view of the interior

BL

Summer 1926
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

April 19, 1927
Click to view the complete timetable

1927
Joint KLM/ABA timetable
France-Netherlands-Scandinavia route
French edition
(From the collection of Will Porrio)
Click for larger view

1928
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)

BL

April 10, 1928
Click for views of the interior (schedule part is complete)

BL

April 10, 1928
Joint KLM/ABA timetable
UK/France-Netherlands-Scandinavia route
UK edition
Click for larger view (detail)
Click for a view of the interior

October 8, 1928
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

1931
Click to view the complete timetable

*

Click to view a 1931 ABA ticket.
(Courtesy of Björn Ramert)

*

BL

May 1, 1932
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

May 1, 1932
Click to view the complete timetable

September 1, 1932
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

November 1, 1932
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

March 1, 1933
Click to view the complete timetable

Summer (1933?)
Routes to/from Malmö
(From the collection of Philip Chuang; image courtesy of Tom Heitzman)

May 1, September 1 and November 1, 1933
(All courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete May 1, 1933 timetable
Click to view the complete November 1, 1933 timetable

BL

March 1, 1934

May 1, 1934
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

May 1, 1934
Routes to/from Stockholm
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)

BL

September 1, 1934

November 1, 1934
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

April 1, 1935
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

October 6, 1935
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

April 19, 1936
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

April 19, 1936
Route map (network) timetable
(System)

BL

January 1, 1937
Click to view the complete timetable

April 4, 1937
(From the collection of Mikael Öqvist)
Click to view the complete timetable.

BL

July 1, 1937
Joint ABA/Aeroflot timetable
Western Europe-Moscow ("Kremlin Air Express")
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

October 3, 1937
Click to view the complete timetable

March 27, 1938 (May 14, 1938 inside)
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

March 27, 1938 (June 14, 1938 inside)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click for larger view

July 18, 1938
Joint ABA/Aeroflot timetable
Western Europe-Moscow ("Moscow Air Express")
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

July 18, 1938
Joint ABA/Aeroflot timetable
Stockholm-Moscow route
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

October 2, 1938
(From the collection of Mikael Öqvist)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

April 16, 1939
(Image above from the collection of Daniel Kusrow)
Click to view the complete timetable
(BL)

DZ

April 16, 1939

May 3, (1939)
Joint ABA/Aeroflot timetable
Stockholm-Moscow route ("Moscow Air Express")
(From the collection of Michael Dawes)
Click to view the complete timetable
(BL)

Until October 7, 1939
Danish edition
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click for larger view
Click for a view of the back cover as well as a view of the interior
(both the latter images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

BL

Undated (November 1939)
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
Click to view the complete timetable

November 12, 1939
Joint Aeroflot/ABA timetable
Moscow-Stockholm route
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

November 20, (1939)
Route map (network) timetable
(System)e
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

February 1, 1940
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

June 1, 1940
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
Click to view the complete timetable

July 1, 1940
Joint ABA/Aero O/Y timetable
"Special Olympic Air Traffic" (Stockholm/Tallinn-Helsinki)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

November 11, 1940
Joint ABA/Aeroflot timetable
Stockholm-Moscow route
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

November 20, 1940
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
(From the collection of Gunnar Saltin)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

May 5, 1941
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

November 10, 1941
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

March 1 and April 1, 1942
Route map (network) timetables
(System)
(Both courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete April 1, 1942 timetable

October 5, 1942
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

February 1, 1943
(No flight times due to wartime conditions)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

June 1943
Route map (network) timetable
(System)
Click for larger view

January 1, 1944
(No flight times due to wartime conditions)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

September 11, 1944
"Rikslinjen" (National route) Malmö-Stockholm-Luleå
Click for larger view

November 1, 1944
(No flight times due to wartime conditions)
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

May 1, 1945
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

BL

1945 (c. May)
"Rikslinjen" (National route) Malmö-Stockholm-Luleå
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

August 1, 1945
Click to view the complete timetable

November 1, 1945
(From the collection of Mikael Öqvist)
Click to view the complete timetable (these images courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)

December 1, 1945 (both)
(Both courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetables

January 1, 1946
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)

February 1, 1946
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

March 1, 1946 (both)
(Both courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetables

BL

April 1, 1946
Click to view the complete timetable

May 1, 1946
(Image from an ABA/SILA booklet of June 1946 titled "Fågelvägen - en presentation i ord och bild av ABA-SILA")
Click to view the complete timetable
(BL)

June 1, 1946
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

June 1946
(From the collection of Gérard Morel)

BL

July 1, 1946

BL

July 1946
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

August 1, 1946
Click to view the complete timetable

DZ

August 1946
Click for a view of the interior (BL)

August 1946
Nice-Stockholm
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)

September 1, 1946
(Courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

September 1946
Click for a view of the interior

October 1946
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click to view the complete timetable
(BL)

November 1946
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click for larger view

December 1946
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click for larger view

January 1947
(From the collection of Odd Arnestad)
Click to view the complete timetable
(BL)

BL

February 1947

BL

March 1947
Click to view the complete timetable

April 1, 1947
(From the collection of Mikael Öqvist)

BL

April 1, 1947
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

April 20, 1947
Click for a view of the interior

BL

June 1, 1947
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

August 10, 1947
Click to view the complete timetable

BL

October 6, 1947

BL

October 6, 1947
Click to view the complete timetable

December 1947 (both)
(Both courtesy of ABA-SAS Historical Collection, Stockholm-Arlanda)
Click for larger view (of the English language edition, w/comments)
Click to view the complete English language edition

*

View more ABA timetables on Odd Arnestad's website.

*

A site with interesting and detailed articles on pre-WW2 European airlines is Rob Mulder's:

There is an article called AB Aerotransport and the Junkers G 24.

This page last updated April 5, 2021.