 On 18 August 1997 , Braathens SAFE announced a strategic partnership with the Dutch airline KLM . The partnership replaced the agreement with British Airways , and became active in 1998 . Analysts stated that the partnership came as a reaction to SAS ' alliance with Lufthansa , the Star Alliance , that had been created the previous year . Braathens SAFE had also been in negotiations with British Airways . The agreement involved KLM purchasing a 30 % stake in Braathens SAFE from Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi for NOK 800 million . In addition , Braathens SAFE started flying from several Norwegian cities to KLM 's main hub at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam . In addition , the partnership involved a coordination of scheduling , prices , frequent flyer programs , corporate customer agreements , maintenance and procurement . The partnership also involved cooperation with the American airline Northwest Airlines . In 1997 , Braathens SAFE and Transwede had a revenue of NOK 5 @.@ 4 billion and made a profit of NOK 206 million , down 88 million from 1996 . 
