"In January 1961, representatives of SAS, Swissair, and the Dutch airline KLM gathered in a top secret meeting in Copenhagen to discuss a deeper partnership between the three European airlines, especially on the intercontinental routes. Put together, they would become the largest in Europe, with more than 200 planes.
Two months later, what had been said in the meeting was still top secret. SAS would not comment on the developments, but since Swissair and SAS already worked together on different fronts, any delays were thought to be linked to KLM’s resistance to join the partnership – especially since there were rumors about a possible KLM partnership with West Germany’s Lufthansa.
“And as long as there’s a chance of that happening, KLM will surely take a wait-and-see approach with its plans with SAS and Swissair,” Svenska Dagbladet wrote in March 1961.
Lufthansa didn’t wait too long, though. It just didn’t wait for KLM."
https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en/aviation/1960s-partners-in-the-sky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLM
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