Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S or Braathens SAFE was founded by ship-owner Ludvig G. Braathen in 1946. It started as a charter airline based at Oslo Airport, Fornebu in Norway, flying to destinations in the Far East and in South America. At first the airline used Douglas DC-4s, and later also Douglas DC-3s. In 1948, the airline moved to Oslo Airport, Fornebu and started regular scheduled flights to the Far East. In 1952, the airline started cooperation with the Icelandic airline Loftleidir, where until 1960 the two airlines in cooperation flew flights to Reykjavík. Domestic services started in 1951, using de Havilland Herons on a route from Oslo to Stavanger via Tønsberg. Braathens SAFE also established at Stavanger Airport, Sola. A second route was started two years later to Trondheim. The Heron routes also stopped in Farsund, Kristiansand, Notodden to Stavanger and Hamar, Røros to Trondheim.

In 1958, Braathens SAFE started flying to Ålesund and at the same time started flights along the West Coast. In 1959, Fokker F-27s were taken into use, and with the Herons taken out of service, Hamar, Farsund and Tønsberg were terminated. During 1960, the airline flew a single season to Sandefjord and Aalborg. The company also entered the domestic and international charter market during the 1960s, an industry where the airline would eventually grow to become a large Norwegian and Swedish contestant. Services to Bodø and Tromsø started in 1967, although only from Western Norway. Braathens' main domestic competitor was Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which operated all the primary domestic routes Braathens SAFE did not, in addition to the international routes. Braathens took Boeing 737-200s and Fokker F-28s into use in 1969; Kristiansund was first served in 1970 and Molde in 1972. From 1984, the airline also operated two Boeing 767s, although they were retired along with the F-28s were in 1986. Services to Longyearbyen started in 1987. From 1987, Braathens SAFE was allowed to make international scheduled flights on certain routes. In 1989, it opened a route to Billund, in 1991 to Malmö, Newcastle and London, and in 1993 to Murmansk. From 1989 to 1994, the airline replaced its fleet with Boeing 737-400 and -500s. From 1989 to 1994, Braathens Helikopter operated services on contract with oil companies to their oil platforms in the North Sea.

Far East Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S was founded on 26 March 1946 by Ludvig G. Braathen through his shipping company Braathens Rederi.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 22 Share capital was , plus loans from the shipping company.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 31 Braathens had made good money during World War II with the participation in the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission, and received permission to use US$1 million to purchase aircraft.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 30–31 The idea to start an airline had occurred to Braathen in 1936, when the ship Brajara had engine trouble while en route to Japan. The Japanese shipyards could not guarantee that they could repair the ship, and at first it was considered whether the ship should be towed to Europe for repairs. The solution chosen was instead to have the necessary piece made in Amsterdam and flown by KLM. Braathen wanted to have an airline that would be able to fly crew and supplies to his and other ships throughout the world—primarily in the Far East.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 17

Braathen traveled to the United States, where he bought several used Douglas C-54 (DC-4) aircraft from the United States Air Force. These were rebuilt by Texas Maintenance Company (Temco) in Fort Worth, Texas, giving them a capacity of 44 passengers, or 22 passengers and of cargo. Twenty pilots were recruited and sent to Fort Worth for certification. The first plane, LN-HAV Norse Explorer, landed at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen on 26 December 1946. The next planes were LN-HAT Norse Skyfarer on 11 February 1947 and LN-NAU Norse Trader on 13 March.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 31–34

The first route ran from Oslo to Cairo via Copenhagen and Paris on 30 January 1947. Afterwards, the company was chartered for several trips from Paris and Marseille, France, to Lydda, Palestine, and Tunis, Tunisia. From Lydda, the aircraft were used to evacuate French and British personnel prior to the creation of Israel. The company's route to Hong Kong was the longest air route in the world. At the time, the only scheduled service to the Far East was operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation using Sandringham flying boats. This route took a fortnight, while KLM had a land-plane route from Amsterdam to Batavia (Djarkarta). The first Braathens SAFE flight was made on 24 February from Oslo, landing at Amsterdam, Marseille, Cairo, Basra, Karachi, Calcutta and Bangkok before Hong Kong, where Norske Skyfarer landed on 8 March. Total flight time was 46 hours. Along the route, Braathens SAFE established contracts with agents, or stationed their own employees.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 34–35

The regular services could be done with a round trip time of nine to ten days, including overnighting in Cairo, Karachi and Bangkok, and with technical revision of the plane in Hong Kong. At first there were semiweekly services, but by the end of 1947, these had increased to weekly. In June, Braathens SAFE bought a Douglas DC-3, LN-PAS Norse Carrier, and in August another DC-4, LN-PAW Norse Commander, both from KLM. In 1947, Braathens SAFE flew twenty-five trips to Hong Kong, five to New York and one to Johannesburg, South Africa, making a profit of NOK 750,000. The following year, Braathens SAFE started the first trial flights to South America. The first flight was made on 23 August from Stavanger via Reykjavík, Gander and Bermuda to Caracas, where the plane landed on 26 August. In October, the airline flew to Panama, but neither route gave sufficient contracts to commence regular services. In 1948, the airline made fifty trips to Hong Kong, eight to Johannesburg, two to the United States, three to Venezuela and two to Panama.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 35–43

Concession

During World War II, the civil aviation planning was conducted by the Aviation Council. In 1945, they started a limited number of flights that were operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. On 2 July 1946, the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, several large shipping companies and other private investors reestablished Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL), with the state owning 20% and the shipping companies 49%. This airline was granted a 20-year monopoly on domestic and international flights. According to the concession, only routes that DNL were not willing to fly themselves, could be granted to other airlines.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 27

By 1948, Braathens SAFE's routes were so regular that several countries stated that a bilateral agreement would have to be negotiated for them to continue. However, the concession that had been granted to DNL did not allow Braathens to fly any scheduled flights. Braathens SAFE applied for fifteen-year concession on 5 February 1948; Minister of Transport Nils Langhelle from the Labor Party knew that he would be violating DNL's concession by granting Braathens SAFE a concession, but at the same time he was worried that Braathens SAFE could easily flag out to another country, from which DNL would receive no protection. The exception in DNL's concession could not be used, since DNL declared that they, through the Scandinavian cooperation Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), were planning to start a route to the far east. The Directorate for Civil Aviation stated that it was unlikely that DNL/SAS would start such a route within a few years, and recommended Langhelle that Braathens SAFE be granted the route. Concession was granted by the Norwegian Parliament on 3 February 1949, with a duration of five years. The airline had to follow the route Oslo or Stavanger – Amsterdam – Geneva – Rome – Cairo – Basra – Karachi – Bombay – Calcutta – Bangkok – Hong Kong. The concession was made conditional that Braathens SAFE built a technical base at Stavanger Airport, Sola.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 39–46

The Hong Kong-route was officially opened on 5 August 1949. Braathens SAFE had then moved its operative base from Gardermoen to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company stationed technical employees in Rome, Karachi, Bangkok and Hong Kong, as well as having an agreement with KLM. The planes would stop each night and crew and passengers would stay at a hotel. Cabin crew had no training, and learned the job as they worked. Chicken was the most common lunch meal, and the cabin crew had to purchase this fresh each day, usually observing the slaughter to ensure its freshness. In 1949, sixty-seven flights were made to Hong Kong, as well as two to Tokyo, to Venezuela and one to Johannesburg.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 47–49

In 1950, it became increasingly clear that the SAS-cooperation was weak, and that either a full merger or a discontinuation of the cooperation would be necessary. Braathen suggested to the government that DNL, Fred. Olsen Airtransport and Braathens SAFE should merge to create a new domestic airline, but this proposal was rejected by both DNL and Fred. Olsen. In 1949, the Swedish branch of SAS, Aerotransport (ABA), and the Danish branch, Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL) started a joint route to the Far East. For a merger to be completed, Danish and Swedish authorities required that SAS be granted all international routes from Norway, meaning that Braathens SAFE would lose its concession from 1 March 1954. The SAS merger was completed on 8 August 1951.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 49–54

Braathens SAFE applied for a concession on a route from Norway to New York on 27 March 1950. This would allow the airline to connect the route to the Hong Kong-flights, giving one continual service. The proposal would involve the purchase of Douglas DC-6B or Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation aircraft. The proposal was rejected by the government on 19 April. The following year, Braathens SAFE applied to extend the route to Tokyo, but this was also rejected by the government. In 1951, the company applied to purchase two Super Constellations to replace two sold DC-4s, which was granted, and on 14 January 1953 for an extension of the concession for another ten years. On 13 November 1953, the government rejected the concession application, stating that Norway was bound to grant the concession to SAS on the basis of the merger agreement.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 54–62

Icelandic cooperation In 1952, the Icelandic airline Loftleidir was granted the concession to fly from Keflavík Airport outside Reykjavík to New York and Chicago in the United States, and to Oslo, Copenhagen and London. The company established a hub at Keflavík. Braathens SAFE and Loftleidir made an agreement where Braathens SAFE would lease personnel and mechanical services to Loftleidir, and the two would split profits from the joint venture evenly. This allowed the two airlines to have a continual route between Hong Kong and New York as long as Braathens SAFE's concession lasted. In 1954, another DC-4, LN-HHK, was bought. This aircraft was sold to Loftleidir the following year. In 1956, another DC-4, LN-SUP, was bought, and used for charter and by Loftleidir. In 1959 and 1960, Loftleidir received two new Douglas DC-6B aircraft, with a five-year mechanical agreement with Braathens SAFE. In 1960, the two companies agreed to terminate the cooperation from 1 January 1961.Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1995: 75–83

Domestic with Herons