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About Us / History

By air

Sending mail by air is not particularly modern – the ancient Egyptians used carrier pigeons. The bird of peace was used for postal transport through the Second World War.

However, using machines to send mail by air is – in our history – rather new. The Danes tried to use small, unmanned balloons to send messages to occupied Själland as far back as the early 19th century but, since the balloons could only fly in one direction (i.e. with the wind), the attempt was limited. The same sort of balloons were also used during Denmark’s war with Sweden around 1808-09 to send propaganda across the channel.

The first airmail service in 1919

The first official Danish airmail service – this time with an airplane – was made in 1919, and the first scheduled Swedish airmail service opened in 1920. Sweden also experimented with airborne travelling post offices, but the costs for attendant postmen were too high and the experiment was discontinued.

Increased by the 1930s

Airmail service had truly taken off by the 1930s. Today, it constitutes a major portion of postal service around the world. Due to the environmental impact of air transport, an increasing amount of letter and parcel volumes has been transferred to other transport solutions, primarily rail.

 

The "mail plane" ABA S-AABG on the route Stockholm - Helsinki at Lindarängen around in 1935.

More about our history

Post farmers and mail carriers

Christian IV’s “Forordning om Post-Budde” (Mail Carrier Decree) was enacted in December 1624. Twelve years later the Swedish council of state approved the ”Förordning om Postbådhen” (Mail Carrier Ordinance). This was the beginning of formal postal services in both countries.

Cross border

Sweden established a permanent post office in Hamburg in 1620. Dutchman Leonard van Sorgen was assigned the task of arranging postal service from Sweden to Hamburg.

Railways

The Danish postal service was quick to exploit the innovation of sending post by train. The first Danish railway line between Altona and Kiel opened in 1844.

By water

Initially, the many islands comprising the country of Denmark made it difficult to establish a reliable postal service to all areas. 

Automobiles

The New York Times reported in the summer of 1904 on a commission dispatched by the Danish government in Europe to investigate the usefulness of the automobile for short postal transports.

By air

Sending mail by air is not particularly modern – the ancient Egyptians used carrier pigeons. The bird of peace was used for postal transport through the Second World War. 

New times

In this era of globalization, there is a growing need for cross-border communication and logistics. Regions rather than countries are important to doing business.