The restructuring of Europe's fragmented airline industry is proving to be as troublesome as Sabena's first long-haul flight in 1925, when one of its Handley Pages took off from Brussels for Africa, to arrive at its destination only 51 days later. After losing lots of money ever since, the future of the Belgian airline now depends on being part of SAir-Group, the parent of Swissair. SAirGroup has bought stakes in a number of ailing airlines, including Sabena, in an attempt to create an alliance of carriers to compete against bigger rivals. But on January 23rd, that flight plan ended in tatters when the group dumped its chief executive, Philippe Bruggisser, and slammed his strategy into reverse thrust.
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