The SE-210 Caravelle was the first short-medium range jet airliner produced by the French firm Sud Aviation. This plane is considered to be one of the first successful jet airliner designs due to the fact that the De Haviland Comet was withdrawn from service because there were serious fuselage problems. The Caravelle would go on to be one of the most successful jetliner for a number of years, sold throughout Europe and even in the United States.
The first prototype was rolled out on 21 April 1955, and flew on May 27. The second one followed a year later on 6 May 1956. The first order was from Air France in 1956, followed by SAS in 1957. More orders followed, mainly triggered by presentations on airshows and demonstrations to potential customers. The Caravelle was certified in May 1959 and entered shortly after service with SAS and Air France.
In total 282 Caravelles of all types were built (2 prototype aircraft and 280 production aircraft), with Sud Aviation's break-even point at around the 200 mark. Several models were produced as the power of the available engines grew and that allowed higher takeoff weights. The Caravelle III had the same length as the original Caravelle IA but the bigger engines gave the plane a higher takeoff weight.
The Series III was the best-selling Caravelle with 78 built. The major deliveries were to Air France, Swissair, Alitalia, SAS, and Royal Air Maroc. Out of the 32 Series I, 31 were upgraded to Series III specs. There was place for 89 to 128 passengers onboard the different Caravelle types.
| Wing span | Length | Height | Fuselage diameter | Seats | |
| Caravelle I, IA | 34,30 m | 32,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 80 |
| Caravelle III | 34,30 m | 32,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 89 |
| Caravelle VI-N | 34,30 m | 32,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 80 |
| Caravelle VI-R | 34,30 m | 32,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 80 |
| Caravelle 10B | 34,30 m | 33,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 99 |
| Caravelle 10R | 34,30 m | 32,01 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 99 |
| Caravelle 11 | 34,30 m | 32,94 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 99 |
| Caravelle Super 12 | 34,30 m | 36,24 m | 8,72 m | 2,97 m | 128 |
The airline was founded on the first of August 1946 when the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian flag carriers formed a partnership to handle intercontinental traffic to Scandinavia. In 1954, SAS became the first airline in the world to operate a trans-polar route. It was from Copenhagen to Los Angeles. SAS entered the jet age in 1959 when the first jet aircraft, the Caravelle, entered service. It's a remarkable fact that SAS had the honor to take the French Caravelle in service before Air France. Sas introduced in 1981 as first the business class for passagiers, "Euroclass". This was a big succes, other companies followed soon, and it was also available on intercontinental flights. In May 1997, SAS formed the global Star Alliance network with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International and United Airlines.
The Scandinavian Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft :
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Content - Scale models: Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle SAS - Stego