The airline was founded in 1946 by Ludvig G. Braathen and originally used a fleet of Douglas DC-4 aircraft on routes to the Far East and South Africa.

As new domestic airports were built, Braathens SAFE and SAS were awarded each their share of monopoly route concessions.

Braathens followed up by listing itself on the Oslo Stock Exchange, joining an alliance with Dutch airline KLM and expanding its operations to Sweden through purchasing Transwede and Malmö Aviation.

The 1998 opening of Gardermoen resulted in an intense price war with SAS and Color Air, from which Braathens never recovered financially.

[1] Braathens had made good money during World War II with the participation in the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission.

[5] 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.

[6] The partially state-owned Norwegian Air Lines (DNL) was granted a monopoly on all domestic and international flights during the late 1940s.

SAS demanded preferential treatment, but Braathens SAFE threatened to flag out and the government gave them a concession that lasted until 1954, on condition they establish a technical base at Stavanger Airport, Sola.

This involved Braathens leasing personnel and aircraft to Loftleidir and profit sharing on the route, in an agreement which lasted until 1961.

[15] Following the bankruptcy of West Norway Airlines in 1957 and the opening of Ålesund Airport, Vigra the following year, concessions were reshuffled, and Braathens was granted a monopoly on services to Ålesund and between Trondheim and Bergen, while it and SAS would compete on services between Oslo and Stavanger, Kristiansand and Trondheim.

[20] Saga Tours started selling Mediterranean charter trips in 1959 and Braathens SAFE operated the flights.

Braathens bought strategic stakes in both Saga Tours and Sweden's Atlas Resor to secure their share of the charter market.

[30] During the 1970s, Braathens SAFE took delivery of eleven 737s, including one with a cargo door, and three with extended range which allowed for non-stop flights to the Canary Islands.

[32] Braathens SAFE bought 15 percent of DNL in 1982 and applied for concessions for helicopter services from Stavanger to offshore oil platforms.

[36] The first stages towards deregulation started in 1987 with Braathens SAFE being permitted to compete with SAS on the Oslo–Bergen and Western Norway–Trondheim–Bodø–Tromsø route, plus once daily Oslo–Trondheim–Bodø, as well as Tromsø–Longyearbyen, in an attempt to increase domestic competition.

[43][44] Braathens Helikopter was established by Braganza in 1989 after negotiating agreements with Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum and Statoil to provide helicopter transport for their crews to their offshore oil installations Ekofisk, Oseberg, Gullfaks, Veslefrikk.

[50] The deregulation process, which would eliminate the need for concessions for routes, was driven by Norway's application for membership of the European Union.

[51] Braathens SAFE's main concern was that their high debt incurred after the purchase of the new aircraft would make them illiquid in a price war.

[54] A three-year wage agreement was reached with the trade unions to keep costs down, and the company raised additional capital in an initial public offering and subsequent listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange on 10 January 1994.

[56] The following two years, Braathens SAFE also introduced scheduled international flights to Rome, as well as summer routes to Jersey and Nice.

[57] However, Braathens SAFE terminated their routes from Bergen to Bodø, Harstad/Narvik and Tromsø, making the passengers switch planes in Trondheim.

It introduced a new livery with a blue bottom, and replaced the Norwegian flag on the tail with an abstract, silver wing, that became the company's new logo.

[67] SAS did not follow the same policy, and offered its discounted customers to travel in the same class as Braathens', including complimentary service.

[84] They initially disapproved of the merger,[85] With bankruptcy imminent and no other purchasers interested, the authority gave the green light on 23 October.

The airline has operated at least three models each from Douglas, Fokker and Boeing, in addition to the de Havilland Heron and British Aerospace 146.

[93][94] From the establishment, Braathens SAFE's aircraft livery had a thick red and thinner white and blue cheatline, with the Flag of Norway on the vertical stabilizer.

[99] From Oslo, international services were provided to Malmö, Stockholm, Billund, Newcastle, London,[103] Jersey, Nice and Rome,[57] and from 2000 to Barcelona, Alicante and Málaga.

Professor of Sociology Per Morten Schiefloe commented that the segregation offended passengers: Customers who previously had been paying full price, became more aware of the savings on using 'Back' tickets, while people who wanted to travel with discounted tickets felt they received better service and were not treated as second-rate customers with SAS.

The rebranding itself not only cost money to initiate, but also increased operating expenses, because cabin crew needed to move the curtain depending on the number of passengers on each class.

Planes were sometimes delayed for hours, particularly in the beginning of the service, due to the increased work load on the handling and cabin crew.