Editing Sabena (section)

===1990–1995: Sabena World Airlines===
[[File:Sabena, Dublin, May 1995.jpg|thumb|A Sabena Boeing 737 at [[Dublin Airport]] in 1995.]]
A new name, '''Sabena World Airlines''', and colours were introduced for the 1990s. The new livery had an overall white colour and the white circle tail logo in blue on the fin. A large "Sabena" title covered the [[fuselage]] in light blue and the name "Belgian World Airlines" was at times just visible, though the title was also painted on the fuselage in small, clear letters. The 1990s saw further fleet type renewal: the DC-10-30s were replaced with twin-engined [[Airbus&nbsp;A330]] and the Boeing&nbsp;747s with four-engined [[Airbus A340]].
[[File:38be - Sabena Airbus A340-211; OO-SCW@ZRH;23.08.1998 (5126928987).jpg|thumb|To replace their old [[Boeing 747]]s, Sabena purchased many [[Airbus A340]]s. The first of these flew for the airline in 1993.]]

After the liberalisation of the airline industry throughout Europe and the economic consequences of the [[Gulf War]], the Belgian government, the main shareholder of the company, realized that Sabena had little chance of surviving on its own in this very competitive market, and began searching for a suitable partner.

Sabena remained in a poor financial state, and year after year the Belgian government had to cover losses, however it was prevented from providing new funds due to EU State Aid rules. For help in business due to their financial problems, Sabena leased a couple of Boeing 747s from [[Air France]]. Many more aircraft were leased for longer periods, but had to keep their distinctive French [[Aircraft registration|registration numbers]]. 
[[File:Boeing 747-128, Sabena (Air France) AN0157599.jpg|thumb|A [[Boeing 747 | Boeing 747-128]] leased from [[Air France]] in 1992.]]

Around 1987, [[Scandinavian Airlines|SAS]] tried to merge with the carrier, but the merger was blocked by the Belgian authorities. In 1989, [[British Airways]] and [[KLM]] purchased stakes in Sabena, which were later sold back to the Belgian government. In 1993, [[Air France]] purchased a large minority stake in Sabena, which it sold soon after. Finally, in 1995, [[Swissair]] purchased a 49 percent stake in Sabena and took over management.

In 1993 Sabena adopted its third and final logo, and its head office was in the Air Terminus building on Rue Cardinal Mercier in [[Brussels]].<ref>"World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. 24–30 March 1993. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1993/1993%20-%200642.html?search=Scanair 119].</ref>

In 1994, [[Paul Rusesabagina]], a manager for Sabena-owned hotels in the former Belgian territory of [[Rwanda]], sheltered over 1200 Tutsis and moderate Hutus at the [[Hôtel des Mille Collines]] of [[Kigali]], saving them from being slaughtered by the [[Interahamwe]] militia during the [[Rwandan genocide]] (this is depicted in the 2004 motion picture ''[[Hotel Rwanda]]'').<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|date=February 28, 2005|title=Rwandan Hotel Is Still Haunted by Horror|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/28/world/africa/rwandan-hotel-is-stillhaunted-by-horror.html|access-date=|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>