AEROPOSTALE (1) (COMPAGNIE GENERALE AEROPOSTALE, S. A.): France (1918-1931). No exact date for this company’s registration has been found; however, its history can be traced to December 25, 1918. On that date, Pierre-George Latecoere flies as a passenger on a proving flight from Toulouse to Barcelona via Perpignan in a Salmson 2-A.2 piloted by M. Cornement.
On March 19, 1919, M. Lemitre, piloting a Brueguet 14 with Latecoere as passenger, flies Toulouse-Barcelona-Alicante and on March 20 the flight is continued Malaga-Rabat-Casablanca. With them the two men carry a signed contract authorizing the establishment of an airmail service between France and North Africa. The men return to Toulouse prepared to promote the Societe des Lignes Aeriennes Latecoere.
On September 1, the airmail operation is inaugurated by Didier Dau-ret, who flies several mail sacks to Rabat (Morocco) via Alicante, Malaga, and Tangier in a Brueguet 14. By October, six aircraft are flying regularly scheduled service, although equipment failures make successful route completions somewhat sporadic. Additional fall flights are laid on from Alicante-Algiers/Oran.
In April 1920, service is extended to Casablanca. “The Line” — as Latecoere’s enterprise has become known—is renamed Compagnie Generale d’Enterprises Aeronautiques, S. A. (CGEA) on April 21, 1921; however, the earlier nickname will be unofficially retained for several additional years.
The company is officially incorporated on April 11, 1922. The mail route is extended via Casabalanca-Oran (by way of Rabat and Fez) connection on October 4. In October, Pelletier d’Oley flies his Brueguet 14 nonstop on several stages Paris-Casablanca and Casablanca-Tunis.
In May 1923, pilots make an extensive route proving flight between Casablanca and Dakar. The fleet at year’s end is made up of 79 Breguet 14s. In early 1924, Toulouse to Oran via Alicante and Marseilles to Perpignan services are inaugurated. In November, Latecoere dispatches a team to Rio de Janeiro comprised of two board members plus pilots and mechanics and three Breguet 14s. These are to plan and prove the company’s provision of air transport to South America.
The company’s chief pilot, Paul Vachet, leads all three Breguet 14s on a Rio to Buenos Aires mail/newspaper proving flight; two of the three aircraft complete the six-stop mission within 36 hours on January 14-16. Vachet leads his two surviving aircraft on a pioneering three-stop Buenos Aires-Recife test on February 5 and a roundtrip Buenos Aires-Recife-Buenos Aires exploration on March 6-8.
In the spring of 1925, the Brazillian government grants permission for a CGEA airmail service. Meanwhile, regular Casablanca to Dakar service is inaugurated on June 2 via Agadir, Cap Juby, Villa Cisneros, Port Etienne, and St. Louis. Among the aircraft employed are ten Latecoere 15 trimotors and a number of single-engine Latecoere 17s, based at Toulouse and Casablanca. In
Rio de Janeiro on December 3, Pierre Latecoere meets French industrialist Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont, who begins to invest in “The Line.” In addition to Latecoere types, the fleet now owns at least 106 Breguet 14s, making the carrier one of the largest airlines in the world.
During 1926, two pilots, Erafle and Gourp, are forced down in the Sahara and killed by Tuareg tribesmen. Late in the year, Antonine de Saint Exupery is employed to fly the Toulouse-Casablanca route. By this time, the company’s fleet includes the single Latecoere 21 flying boat, employed on the Marseilles-Algiers segment.
In January 1927, Latecoere, Bouilloux-Lafont, and Argentine aviator Vincente Almonacid win a mail concession from Argentine President Alvear. During the spring, Saint Exupery is employed as manager of the Cape Juby post, on the Rio de Oro coast; he will enjoy great success in calming the natives and winning their support for CGEA. On March 9, the Brazilian government formally agrees to a company mail service. Bouilloux-Lafont spends FFr 30 million to purchase control of CGEA on April 11; Latecoere retires to Toulouse to build the land planes and flying boats he will sell his former carrier.
The new owner renames the carrier Aeropostale on April 30, invests $1.5 million in development, and sends personnel, aircraft, etc., to Brazil. Details of the mail contract are negotiated with Argentina in June and in September the subsidiary Aeroposta Argentina, S. A. is created. On November 14, chief pilot Jean Mermoz inaugurates a coastal mail route from Natal-Buenos Aires. By year’s end, 25 one-way mail flights (including four passengers) are completed.
By early 1928, the company is prepared to undertake expanded operations; the fleet now includes 2 Breguet 14 mail planes, 2 Latecoere 17s, and 9 Latecoere 25 mail/passenger aircraft. Employing six leased, exFrench Navy destroyers (one of which is named Air France III), Paris-Buenos Aires flight service begins on March 1, with the ships carrying the mail over the Central Atlantic, Dakar-Natal. The Brazilian government reconfirms the Aeropostale concession on March 7, making annual renewals henceforth.
From April 16, Jean Mermoz begins night flights from Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires and on April 28, he flies a Latecoere 26 nonstop from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires. Later in the year, mail contracts are negotiated with Chile and Paraguay and subsidiary airlines created. Eight Latecoere 32 flying boats begin taking over the Marseilles to Algiers service. During the year, the General Post Office, which has been subsidizing the transport of British airmail via “The Line,” makes its highest annual payment: ?28,000.
Flying a Latecoere 25, the subsidiary’s chief pilot Paul Vachet, on January 13, 1929 inaugurates twice-weekly flights from Buenos Aires via Monte Caseros/Posadas to Asuncion, Paraguay. On February 28, Jean Mermoz and two passengers in a Latecoere 25, mount a trans-Andean proving flight from Buenos Aires-Santiago via Mendoza. A mail contract is signed with Venezuela on July 3 and Paul Vachet, flying a Late-coere 26, spends the remainder of the year surveying internal routes.
On July 15, Mermoz, flying a new Potez 25, inaugurates the weekly Buenos Aires to Santiago mail service. Meanwhile, in early summer, writer-pilot Saint Exupery is assigned to Argentina and personally undertakes the exploration of possible new routes from Bahia Blanca into Patagonia, almost as far south as the Straits of Magellan. On November 29, four-stop service is launched from Bahia Blanca to Comodoro Riva-davia. A mail contract with Venezuela is also obtained during the year and a subsidiary airline created.
Early in 1930, a proving flight is made from Santiago to La Paz, Bolivia. Simultaneously, scheduled weekly services are opened in Venezuela; flights are made from Caracas (Maracay)-Maracaibo and Caracas (Maracay)-Ciudad Bolivar/Guasipati/Tumeremo. On February 14, the
Brazilian subsidiary Companhia Aeropostal Brasileira, S. A. is formed. On April 2, flying a new Latecoere 28-3, Saint Exupery extends the Argentine route, with three intermediate stops, from Comodore Rivadavia to Rio Gallegos, the southernmost scheduled destination in the world; his only passenger is Aeropostale (1) President Bouilloux-Lafont.
Piloted by Jean Mermoz and Jen Dabry, with mechanic Gimie, the new Latecoere Late 28-3, christened Comte de la Vaulx, departs St. Louis, Senegal on May 12, landing at Natal 21 hrs. 15 min. later. Mail that had left Paris on May 11 is thus successfully delivered to Buenos Aires by May 14—only four days time. Toward the end of the year, four specially designed mail ships replace the ex-destroyers. Mail contracts are acquired from Peru and Bolivia; subsidiary companies are built in those two countries, allowing a Potez 25 connection from Arica, Chile to La Paz on October 2, via Tacna, Peru.
On January 9, 1931, the Venezuela service is extended from Ciudad Bolivar to Trinidad. The French government now refuses to renew Aero-postale’s subsidy and an overextended Bouilloux-Lafont declares bankruptcy on March 31. At that point, “The Line” is the world’s largest airline with operations in nine South American countries. A caretaker commission is appointed to maintain the mail service. In South America, service between Buenos Aires and Asuncion is suspended on April 17, from Arica to La Paz in May and from Buenos Aires to Santiago in June.
During the remainder of the year and for most of two thereafter, the once proud carrier decays, accepting rents and joint ownership arrangements from and with its South American subsidiaries. In 1931, Saint Ex-upery’s nonfiction novel Vol de Nuit (Night Flight) is published to critical acclaim. The book, together with two later tales, Wind, Sand and Stars (1939) and Flight to Arras (1942), will be published as a combined work, Airman's Odyssey, by the New York firm of Reynal & Hitchcok in 1942. The American motion picture studio MGM purchases the film rights to Night Flight.
The highlight of this period is a January 13-14 1933 transatlantic flight from St. Louis (Senegal) to Natal (Brazil) made in 14 hrs. 27 min. by the Couzinet 70 Arc-en-Ciel (Rainbow), piloted by Jean Mermoz. MGM’s screen version of Night Flight appears, starring John Barrymore and Clark Gable. The film, like the book, is well received. In 1994, Stacy Schiff will publish what many consider to be the definitive biography of the flying author, Saint Exupery (New York: Knopf), while also providing much insight into Aeropostale’s operations.
On August 30, the remnants of Aeropostale (1) are absorbed the newly created SCELA, immediate predecessor of Air France.
AEROPOSTALE (2) (L’AEROPOSTALE/ SOCIETE DE EXPLOITATION AEROPOSTALE, S. A.): BP 10454, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle International Airport, F-95708, France; Phone 33 (1) 43 62 1400; Fax 33 (1) 48 62 80; Year Founded 1990. Originally constituted in 1987 as the Interceil Service, S. A., this Group Air France allcargo carrier is reformed at Paris (CDG) in 1990 to operate on behalf of the French post office system. Christened in honor of the pioneer-era carrier, ownership is divided between Air France, Air Inter, Sofipost, and TAT European Airlines, S. A.
Martin Vial is appointed chairman/CEO and revenue operations are undertaken with a fleet that includes 6 shared Boeing 737-200Fs, 6 B-737-300Fs, and 1 B-737-300, plus 15 Fokker F.27-500s previously leased by Air France for operation in support of La Poste airmail requirements.
The Fokkers are removed in 1991 as the first former Aeromaritime/ UTA, S. A. B-737-300QC “quick change” jetliners enter service. After midnight each night, after performing its passenger service on behalf of Air Inter, TAT European Airlines, S. A., or Air France, a plane, in a 20-min. task, is converted into a freighter by removing the seats. On behalf of La Poste, up to 18 tons of mail and journals/newspapers are loaded and, before dawn, flown from Paris to mail depots at Toulouse, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Mulhouse, Lyon, Nantes, and Strasbourg.
Night-airmail and daytime-passenger flights continue apace in 19921994 and daytime-passenger charters are introduced. The fleet is altered to include 10 chartered B-737-200QCs, 3 B-737-300QCs, and 5 B-737-300s. La Poste, late in the year, also introduces all-cargo TGV highspeed trains to carry mail.
Enplanements total 1.04 million and a total of 96,000 metric tons of mail is flown.
Chairman Vial undertakes an aggressive plan to increase business during 1995. A B-737-3Y0QC and a B-737-33AQC are leased from Monarch Airlines, Ltd. and two B-727-200Fs are delivered in early May. By the end of the third quarter, all of its aircraft are equipped with the Avaero Stage 3 noise compliance kits that will allow them to continue operating 48 flights per night into Paris from around the country. Despite competition from the three dedicated TGV trains, the company’s operation is largely responsible for the ability of La Poste to guarantee next-day delivery of first-class mail.
Passenger boardings climb to 1.3 million and mail to 105,000 metric tons.
In 1996, the company operates a fleet of 15 B-737-300QCs, 4 B-737-200s, and 2 B-727-200s. During the night, the company operates 16 domestic mail routes; during the day, its QC “Baby Boeings” offer services on behalf of Air Inter Europe, S. A. Plans are announced in late June for the acquisition of additional freight aircraft. During the fall, a code-sharing agreement is signed with TNT Express Worldwide under which Aeropostale contracts to transport freight nightly from Paris to Cologne.
Enplanements for the year total 1.35 million and 117-million metric tons of mail and cargo are transported.
In 1997, La Poste remains the carrier’s largest single customer, while the postal service’s Chronopost subsidiary is also accommodated. Every night, Aeropostale’s planes flying from Paris to regional airports deliver 600,000 newspapers, 15,000 small packages, and 6-million first-class letters.
During the first half year, on-time performance is improved by 97.6%, furthering the postal service’s goal of next-day mail delivery throughout France. Discussions are begun with the postal services of neighboring companies concerning partnership alliances.
Revenues total $183 million while a $580,000 net profit is enjoyed.
During the spring of 1998, plans are announced for the acquisition of 3 A300B4F all-cargo aircraft, with which to replace its B-727Fs, plus 4 cargo-configured Avions de Transport Regional ATR72s.
Revenues dip to $182 million, while net gain falls to $133 million.
The first two ATR72-202s, previously operated by Trans Asia Airways, Ltd., are delivered during the summer of 1999 and initiate freighter services from Paris (CDG). Two Airbus freighters are in service by September, with a third wet-leased from Channel Express (Air Services), Ltd. Meanwhile, planning has been undertaken for a possible combination of the freight express requirements of La Post and Air France Cargo. Still Air France continues to provide over 150 pilots to operate the joint venture’s 15 B-737-300QCs.
At a January 2000 news conference, Air France officials indicate that they will gradually pull out of their 50% stake in Aeropostale (2). Reaction by the other 50% stakeholder, Sofipost, a subsidiary of the French post office La Post, is to dismantle the operation altogether; in September, La Post will sign a comprehensive cooperative agreement with Federal Express.
It is announced on June 13 that the major has purchased full equity in Aeropostale (2) and will soon merge it into its own cargo operation. In early July, the entire B-737 fleet must be grounded after cracks are discovered in a cargo door of one ship during a routine maintenance check.
To help cover commitments, a British Aerospace Bae 146-200QC is wet-leased from Air Jet, S. A. On September 22, two B-737-3H6Fs, previously flown by Malaysia Airlines, Ltd. (MAS) are chartered from Aviacargo Leasing.
On December 1, Air France relinquishes its 50% stake to Sofipost, a subsidiary of the French state mail service, La Post. Although, for historic reasons, if no other, the major retains rights to the old Aeropostale brand, it turns over the company headquarters and all of the dedicated aircraft to the new Europe Air Post, S. A.
AEROPUT (DRUSTRO ZA VAZDUSNI SAOBRACAJ): Yugoslavia (1927-1941). With government backing, Aeroput is formed at Belgrade in May 1927. Having acquired four French-guilt Poetz 29s, it inaugurates service on February 15, 1928 over a route from the capital to Zagreb. Two years later, in 1930, and after agreement is reached with the Greek authorities, a route is stretched to Salonika.
In 1931, when the carrier begins flying to Vienna, its fleet comprises 5 aircraft, including 2 Fokker F-VIIs. During the remainder of the 1930s, Aeroput concentrates upon the provision of domestic frequencies and does not extend any additional foreign service. In these years, the fleet is upgraded through the purchase of a wide mix of foreign equipment.
Only one indigenous aircraft is employed, the Mitrovich M. M.S.3, designed by the carrier’s technical director Milenko Mitrovich in 1936. Largely unknown, the aircraft has only 66 flight hours in its logbook when it is withdrawn in 1938. In 1939, the flight equipment inventory includes: 2 Caudron C-448s Goelands from France, 2 de Havilland DH 89A Dragon Rapides and 2 Spartan Cruisers from England, and 4 Lockheed Model 10 Electras from America.
All operations cease following the German invasion in May 1941.
AEROQUETZAL, S. A.: Guatemala (1990-1993). Aeroquetzal is formed at Guatemala City in 1990 to provide scheduled, regional passenger, and cargo services, particularly in connection with archaeological sites. Revenue flights to Flores and other destinations commence with a Convair CV-580, which is replaced by year’s end with a Douglas DC-9-15.
Unable to maintain viability during a difficult, recessionary 1992, the company is forced to shut down in the spring of 1993.
AEROREGIONAL, S. A.: Chile (1987-1994). Aeroregional is established at Puerto Montt in the fall 1987 to provide third-level passenger and cargo flights around the country. Outfitted with a fleet of 2 Fokker F-27Fs, 2 Cessna 402s, and 1 each Cessna 206 and 421, revenue operations commence late in the year. A total of 27,125 passengers are transported in 1988, along with 186,000 FTKs.
The small regional enjoys a pleasant 1989 as its passenger boardings climb by 8.7% to 29,492. Through April of 1990, customer bookings are off 18.7% to 9,933. Although operations continue apace in 1991-1992, no statistics are released.
In 1993, General Manager Patricia Eliot’s fleet includes the 2 Fokker F-27Fs, 1 Cessna 206, 1 Cessna 421, and 2 Cessna 402s.
Flights cease in 1994.
AEROREPUBLICA COLOMBIA, S. A.: CRA 10, No. 27-51, Ofc. 303, Bogota, Colombia; Phone 57 (1) 342-7221; Fax 57 (1) 283-1680; Code P5; Year Founded 1993. Owned by the Promotora de Invesiones Superior, Aerorepublica Colombia is established at Bogota in 1993 and is the first new airline to be formed in the nation in 25 years. Alfonso Avla Velanda is named CEO and his concern is outfitted with a fleet that includes 5 Douglas DC-9-32s, 2 DC-9-31s and 2 Boeing 727-46s. Scheduled service is inaugurated linking the cities of Bogota, Barran-quilla, Buenos Aires, Cali, Caracas, Leticia, Lima, Medillin, Panama City, Quito, and San Jose.
In 1997, plans are announced for the start of services to the U. S., but these have yet to begin.
At beginning of the new millennium, Colombia’s third largest airline has increased its Douglas fleet to 8 and employs 186 workers.
AEROSANTA, S. A.: Chile (1987-1990). Aerosanta provides scheduled air taxi flights in the Santiago de Chile area beginning in late 1987. A total of 3,782 passengers are transported during 1988, the first full year. Operations cease in 1990.
World History
