Delta Air Transport
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| Founded | 1966 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1967 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 2002 (re-organized as SN Brussels Airlines) |
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| Hubs | Antwerp International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Brussels Airport | ||||||
| Parent company |
Compagnie Maritime Belge (from 1973) Sabena (from 1996) |
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| Headquarters |
Antwerp, Belgium (1967-1996) Brussels (1996-2002) |
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Delta Air Transport (abbreviated DAT) was an airline headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, operating scheduled and chartered flights, mostly on short-haul routes. It served a multitude of regional European destinations on behalf of Sabena during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Delta Air Transport was founded in 1966 as a provider for air taxi and charter flight services with an initial fleet of three Cessna aircraft (one each of the types Skymaster, 210 and 206). DAT's first scheduled flight from Antwerp to Amsterdam on behalf of KLM took place on 19 September 1967; for that purpose two Beechcraft Queen Air feederliners had been acquired (some sources erroneously mention three of the type).
Operations grew when the larger Douglas DC-3 and DC-6 joined the fleet over the following years, allowing DAT to operate charter flights on behalf of KLM (which owned a 33.3 percent stake in DAT), Sabena, Crossair and BIAS. In 1973, the majority of the airline's stake was bought by Compagnie Maritime Belge. During 1974, a Boeing 720 was leased, allowing DAT to offer worldwide charter flights (under the Delta International branding), which soon turned out to be unsuccessful, though.
In 1986, Sabena acquired a 49 percent stake in DAT, and an increasing number of flights were operated on behalf of the Belgian national airline henceforth (also adopting the airline codes of Sabena), using a fleet of British Aerospace 146 aircraft, in favor of which other airliners were gradually phased out. DAT became a member of the European Regional Airlines Association in 1993. In 1996, Sabena bought the remaining KLM stake, thus DAT became a wholly owned Sabena subsidiary, moved its headquarters from Antwerp to Brussels and was re-branded as DAT Belgian Regional Airline, offering low-cost flights. Gradually, the livery of Sabena was applied to all DAT aircraft.
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