AIR UNION, S. A.: France (1923-1933). Compagnie des Mes-sageries Aeriennes, S. A. and Compagnie des Grands Express Aeriens, S. A. merge their operations on January 1, 1923, together with at least 10 CMA Breguet 14s, 5 CMA Bleriot-Berline Spad 33s, 15 CMA and CGEA Farman F-60 Goliaths, and 10 CMA Breguet 14Ts. Officials now elect to concentrate on Paris-London service and abandon other routes, particularly those to Switzerland that are taken over by Far-man’s Societe Generale de Transport Aerien, S. A. (SGTA).
To more successfully compete with the pioneering British companies on the Le Bourget to London (Croydon) route, the new carrier immediately challenges them to a fare war by reducing its tariff to only ?4 10 shillings. Without the deep financial resources of the French, the British companies begin to suffer and the state-owned carrier Imperial Airways, Ltd will replace them within a year.
Late in the month, morning Goliath newspaper service is initiated from Paris to Lympne, England. A pair of Bleriot 135s join the fleet on August 1, 1924 and are placed into service between Paris and London a week later. On June 30, 1925, AU pilot Robert Bajac, with two passengers, makes an experimental flight in a Schreck Fba 19HMT3 amphibian from the Seine to the Thames Rivers.
The following year, 1926, the company takes over the small Mediterranean carrier Aeronavale, S. A. and uses CAMS 53 seaplanes to stretch that airline’s Ajaccio, Corsica, destination on to Tunis and Bone. Five Bleriot-Berline Spad 56-4s are acquired and placed in service to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Marseilles. On May 26, two Bleriot 155s, christened Clement Ader and Wilbur Wright, begin service on the Paris to London route; Wilbur Wright is destroyed in a crash in Kent, England, in October. Meanwhile, on August 19, another airliner crashes at Aldington (three dead).
During May 1927, a specially equipped Farman Goliath, outfitted with four sleeping berths, makes an experimental night flight from London to
Marseilles. On July 30, Air Union responds to Imperial Airways, Ltd.’s “Silver Wing” luxury service to Paris by introducing “Le Rayon d’Or” (“Golden Ray”) flights with two new twin-engine Liore et Olivier LeO 21s. Painted in a red, white, and gold color scheme and christened Capi-taine Ferber and J. P. Mouillard, the cabins of the two are designed on advice received from the restaurant Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, S. A. The two are supported by the fleet’s first Breguet 280T Rapid Azurs. The first Bleriot 165 is received in October and is christened Leonard de Vinci.
These three new types also fly from Paris to Marseilles, via Lyons. These aircraft, like the Oiseau Bleu (Blue Birds) flown by the Farman-backed airline, also possess bars. They become, however, famous for their haute cuisine; the fare is consumed in sumptuous surroundings with choice of spirits in a travel time from Paris to London that is only 20 minutes longer than the same trip 50 years later.
During the year, four LeO 190s are obtained to supplement LeO 13s on the Antibes to Ajaccio service.
A second Bleriot 165 is acquired in September 1928 and is named Octave Chanute; it joins its sister on the “Golden Ray” service to London (Croydon). Late in the year, the subsidiary Lignes d’Orient, S. A. is formed to push service beyond France to Indochina; survey flights are undertaken.
On April 9, 1929, Paris-London night service is initiated. In June, the subsidiary Lignes d’Orient inaugurates regularly scheduled airmail service Marseilles to Beirut via Naples, Corfu, Athens, and Castelrosso, with two CAMS-53 flying boats; in the fall, it is merged with the Indochina-based Air Asie, S. A. to form the independent Air Orient, S. A. During the year, five Breguet 281Ts are delivered and are placed into service on the Paris to Marseilles via Lyons and Lyon to Geneva services.
By 1930, company passenger boardings are averaging some 19,000 per year. In 1931 the fleet includes 44 French-built aircraft, including the last 4 Farman F-60 Goliaths and 12 Liore et Olivier LeO 213s that have been placed on the “Golden Ray” London service, as well as on routes to Geneva and to Lyon and Marseilles.
In early 1933, two new Wibault-Penhoet 282.T12, Le Vaillantand Le Temeraire, replace several LeO 213s on the “Golden Ray” service. The service flown by these new trimotors is now marketed as “La Voile d’Or” (“The Golden Clipper”).
Mindful of the shadow cast over continental air transport by the giant Deutsche Luft Hansa, A. G. (DLH) , French officials seek to build a national airline. On May 17, Air Union, S. A. becomes one of four carriers to combine into the Societe Centrale pour L’Exploitation de Lignes Aeriennes, S. A. (SCELA), which negotiates with the government for creation of a state carrier. Following talks and decisions, Air France is created on August 30.
AIR URGA (INTERNATIONAL JOINT STOCK AIR COMPANY): Debrovolskogo 1, Kirvograd, 316005, Ukraine; Phone 38 (0552) 271 451; Fax 38 (0552) 251 125; Code 3N; Year Founded1993. In August 1993, upon its formation as a public limited joint stock company, URGA joins with the 40-year-old State Flight Academy of Ukraine (SFUA) to create a charter airline. Ownership is divided between URGA, SFUA, and the Lyktos group of companies based in Athens.
Mikhail Rubets is named president with Leonid Shmayavich as director general. A staff of 140 is recruited and an all-Antonov fleet is purchased: 3 An-24Bs, 5 An-24RVs, and 8 An-26Bs. Revenue flights begin, with scheduled services soon thereafter added to domestic destinations.
In 1994-2000, domestic passenger and cargo charters are undertaken with a fleet that includes 6 An-26s, 1 An-24, 2 An-24Bs, and 3 An-24RVs. Scheduled services are maintained between Kiev and Prague and extremely profitable charters are flown to the United Arab Emirates. Regularly scheduled service from Kiev and to Zagreb and other points is added in May 1997.
AIR U. S.: United States (1974-1983). Jonathan and Clydelle Moore organize U. S. Aviation at Denver in 1974 and undertake charter flights to regional destinations. Air U. S. is established in the spring of 1977 to offer replacement service, taking over the Frontier Airlines (1) passenger services to Riverton, Wyoming, in early 1978. When Frontier Airlines (1) reinstates its route in 1979, Air U. S. moves its markets from Riverton to Gillette and Sheridan.
Although both scheduled and nonscheduled operations are continued, the company obtains an Essential Air Services (EAS) contract in 1980 to replace Western Airlines’ Sheridan and Gillette to Denver service with its own. Orders are placed for 5 Grumman Gulfstream G1-Cs as 2 Handley Page HP-137 Jetstream IIIs join the fleet to enhance the capabilities of 2 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains. Enplanements total 35,222.
The Navajo Chieftains are phased out in 1981 when the carrier receives its first Gulfstream, and with it FAA Part 121 certification.
On April 17, Flight 716, a Handley Page HP-137 Jetstream III with 2 crew and 11 passengers, collides with a Cessna Tu-206 carrying 1 crew and 5 parachutists, over the Ft. Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport in Colorado. Although the Cessna pilot and three parachutists are able to bail out, everyone else is killed is the collision.
Passenger boardings this year climb 5% to 37,159 while freight jumps by a third. Airline employment is now 90.
Two more G1-Cs are received in March 1982 and begin EAS flights to Cody and Worland, Wyoming. Enplanements for the year jump 20% to 48,500. On January 16, 1983, Air U. S. is renamed Excellair.
World History
