AIR INDIANA: United States (1979). AI is set up at Indianapolis in the early fall of 1979 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo fights to regional destinations. Employing a Douglas DC-3, the company inaugurates daily roundtrips on October 1, linking its base with St. Louis via Danville. Insufficient traffic is generated to maintain the service beyond December.
AIR INDIES: United States (1967-1973). This Colony Airlines, Ltd. subsidiary is established at Miami in the summer of 1967 to offer scenic flights to the Bahamian city of Nassau. Employing Beech 18s, revenue flights commence in September. During the next six years, the fleet is upgraded by the addition of Douglas DC-3s, de Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 Twin Otters, and Beech 99s.
Regularly scheduled roundtrip flights commence from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Ponce, and Mayaguez. A victim of recession and higher fuel prices, the company ceases operations in 1973.
AIR INTER (LIGNES AERIENNES INTERIEURES, S. A.): France (1954-1996). Air France Chairman, Admiral Lebrand, in early 1954, rejects the French government’s initial effort to establish a dedicated local service airline. Nevertheless, the unwanted carrier, Air Inter (IT), is formed by Air France and the government as the principal domestic airline of France on November 12.
Paris-Strasbourg service is inaugurated with chartered Douglas DC-3s on March 12, 1958. Failing to meet financial targets, the carrier is shut down in November and most of the next year is taken up with reorganization.
Leased DC-3s, displaying the company’s new logo, relaunch flights on June 6, 1960 over a Paris-Toulouse route. With leased DC-3s, DC-6Bs, and Vickers Vikings and without ground support equipment, a reservations system, etc., IT begins sustained service over a Lille-Lyon-Nice route on September 19. During the next 3i‘2 months, 17,000 people are carried.
Additional routes are extended outward from the Paris base, along with charter opportunities, in 1961 as three Lockheed L-749 Constellations are leased from Air France for the period April-October. A total of 91,000 passengers are transported during the 12 months and, at year’s end, the first owned aircraft, five Vickers Viscounts 708s, are purchased from Air France. Boardings skyrocket in 1962, exceeding the 200,000 mark, and orders are placed for six Nord 262s. Much of this success is due to the capacity provided by a lease of three L-749s and three L-1049Gs from Air France for the summer tourist season.
The route network is now expanded rapidly in 1963 and some 400,000 travelers are accommodated.
A Vickers Viscount 708 with 4 crew and 16 passengers crashes 24 km. N of Lyons on August 12 while on initial approach; there are no survivors of the aircraft and one person is killed on the ground.
Orders are placed on December 5 for four Nord 262s.
The workforce stands at 492 in 1964 as the several Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle IIIs are leased from Air France and placed into service during March on the route from Paris (ORY) to Marseilles. The first four production Nord 262s join the fleet, beginning on July 16. One of these is employed to initiate service Paris-Quimper on July 24. Airline employment is 492 and boardings rise to 525,000.
In 1965-1966, three Sud SE-210 Caravelles are ordered while a reservations system is put in place and local and regional offices are opened throughout the country. The Nord 262 fleet is increased and destinations now served by it includes Bordeaux, Brest, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Nantes, La Baule, Lyons, Paris, Nimes, Perpignan, Toulouse, and Quimper.
An agreement is signed between Air France and the government in 1967 that makes IT a public company devoted exclusively to domestic service. Shareholding is divided between Air France (25%), SNCF French Railways (25%), UTAFrench Airlines, S. A. (14.7%), and other assorted private and local banks, airfreight forwarders, and government investors (35.3%). Robert Vergnaud is named president, with Rene La-pautre as director general. The first SE-210, leased from Air France, enters service in the spring, followed by the remaining two later in the year.
Three additional SE-210s are placed in service in 1968 along with seven Fokker F.27-500s. Several new domestic markets are opened during the year.
Some 20 min. after takeoff on July 3 while attempting to return with a fire in the rear of its cabin, an SE-210 Caravelle III, with 6 crew and 89 passengers, crashes into the sea off Nice; there are no survivors.
Airline employment grows to 1,880 and enplanements reach 7,727,951.
Three more F.27-500s are purchased in 1969. The carrier becomes the first in the world to employ the ATT landing system as a Caravelle III lands in dense fog at Paris (ORY) on January 9 following a flight from Lyon.
The fleet in 1970 comprises 4 SE-210s, 10 F.27-500s, 4 Nord 262s, and 14 Viscounts.
Airline employment in 1971 stands at 3,373.
An SE-210 Caravelle III is badly damaged in a ground fire at Paris (Orly Airport) on January 4. A Vickers Viscount 708 with two crew is damaged beyond repair during a training flight at Aulnat Airport on December 28; there are no injuries.
Service is launched from Paris (ORY) and a total of 2,619,425 passengers are carried.
Employment is increased 18% to 4,113 in 1972 as the first of 21 Caravelle IIIs and XIIs enter service.
A Vickers Viscount 724 with 5 crew and 63 passengers crashes into a mountain near the town of Clermont-Farrand while on descent to Pic du Picon on October 27 (60 dead).
Passenger boardings soar 27.5% to 3,613,000 and cargo climbs an equal 17.9%.
Airline employment is 4,402 in 1973 and the fleet includes 10 Caravelles, 12 Viscounts, and 10 Fokkers. The last of 282 Aerospatiale (originally Sud-Est) SE-210s, a Caravelle XII, is delivered on March 16.
An F.27-500 freighter with three crew is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Strasbourg on August 11; there are no fatalities.
On November 30, the carrier is ordered to limit its domestic schedule in an effort to save jet fuel. The growth rate is slowed by the French air traffic controllers strike; however, it is far from static.
Passenger bookings rise 7.1% to 3,869,523 while freight traffic is up 10.2%.
An explosion of undetermined but suspicious origin occurs in the forward landing gear compartment of an SE-210 Caravelle III, which has just arrived at Marseilles from Bastia on March 22, 1974; although there are no fatalities, the aircraft is badly damaged.
The first of ten Dassault-Breguet Mercure 100s is delivered on May 15; the only airline to operate this type, IT places it in service on June 4 on the Paris to Lyon route. Orderly Viscount retirements begin.
An F.27-500 with three crew crashes 20 km. from Nantes on July 24 and catches fire; there are no survivors.
Boardings accelerate 6% to 4.1 million, and freight climbs 5.4%.
The last of ten Mercures is received in 1975. Enplanements grow 11.6% to 4,583,000 and are carried in a fleet that now includes the Mercures, 21 SE-210s, and 9 F.27-500s.
An F.27-500 is lost at Quimper on August 5 under unknown circumstances; there are no fatalities.
Company headquarters are transferred from downtown Paris to Paris (ORY) in 1976. The first two A300B2-1Cs join the fleet on September 28 and are placed in service on November 29 over the Paris to Lyon and Marseilles routes. Bookings continue to march upward, accelerating 11.9% to 5,129,000, and cargo increases 24%. Airline employment stands at 4,510 and a net profit of FFr 16,000 is reported.
Two additional A300B2s are received in 1977 as an agreement is reached with Air France to halt charter operations in exchange for a 20% block of stock in the flag carrier’s new nonscheduled enterprise, Air Charter International, S. A., now in the planning stage. The fleet now includes 10 Mercures, 21 Caravelles, and 9 F.27-500s in addition to the A300B2s.
On September 30, armed with a grenade and pistol, Jacques Robert commandeers a Caravelle XII on a domestic flight from Paris (ORY) to Lyon after shooting and wounding flight attendant Annick Guillemot. Threatening to kill all of the passengers unless he is allowed to broadcast a political message, the pirate diverts his captives back to Paris. There, in a scuffle with fellow passengers, Robert drops his grenade, which explodes, killing one man and wounding two others. Police, meanwhile, board the plane and capture the hijacker, who will be tried and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
IT is shut down by a 24-hour national strike on December 1. En-planements total 5,381,332.
In 1978, the computer reservations system SIRENE is inaugurated. The carrier now receives 20% of the shareholding in the Air France subsidiary Air Charter International, S. A. President Vergnaud’s company now employs 4,600 workers and owns a fleet comprising 4 A300B2-1Cs, 10 Mercure 100s, 5 Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle XIIs, 15 Caravelle IIIs, and 9 Fokker F.27-500s.
Passenger boardings are up 9.8% to 5,966,000 and cargo moves upward by 7.6%.
Orderly retirement of the Caravelle IIIs begins in 1979 as three more A300B2-1Cs are delivered. In order to attract new clients, discount fares are extended. Despite another French ATC strike, boardings climb 7.4% to 6.3 million and freight is up 10.9%.
The carrier’s annual subsidy from the French government (received since 1967) is reduced in 1980 to a small sum for essential Corsican service. The workforce reflects this, being reduced by 26.6% to 3,902. The first phase of the SIRENE system comes on line. Enplanements skyrocket 21.6% to 7.7 million, but freight traffic remains level at 11.6 million FTKs.
Three additional A300B2-1Cs are placed in service in 1981 as passenger enplanements jump 11.9% to 8.6 million and freight grows 17.4% to 14.63 million FTKs. Marceau Long becomes president in July
1982. Long France’s largest domestic carrier, the airline can now claim the same honor for all of Europe.
Passenger boardings increase 6.9% to 9,240,000 and cargo accelerates 2.4% to 13.95 million FTKs. A net profit of $4.6 million is earned.
The employee population increases 21.9% in 1983 to 6,300 and the final Caravelle III is retired in April. Late in the year, an order is placed for ten A320s. Enplanements accelerate 8.6% to 10,035,160, but cargo dips 2.3% to 13.62 million FTKs. On total revenues of $560 million, a net $2.3-million profit is realized.
The payroll increases a slight 0.8% in 1984 to 6,805. Pierre Eelsen becomes chairman and president in July, succeeding Marceau Long who becomes chairman/CEO of Air France. Three additional A300B2s are delivered while the Caravelle and Fokker fleet elements are reduced to 12 and 17 craft, respectively.
Boardings rise a dismal 2.6% to 10,295,000, and freight rebounds, up 9.5% to 14.92 million FTKs.
In 1985, IT accepts an A300B4-2C and with a total of 14, remains the world’s largest operator of this aircraft type.
Enplanements grow 3.7% to 10.6 million and freight climbs 3.8% to 493.48 million FTKs. In terms of passenger boardings, the carrier ranks 25th among all the airlines of the world. A net profit of $8.7 million is recorded on total revenues of $787 million.
Employment is up by 4.5% in 1986 to 7,396. Fifty-two air routes serve 30 French metropolitan airports with an average of 300 flights each day. IT is the West’s largest domestic airline and has no competition except for Air France, with which it shares a route from Paris to Nice. Tied in with the one hundredth anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, the company unveils a $185 “France Pass,” which is good for unlimited travel to any point on its route network on any seven days within a one-month period. During the year, a B-747-123 is leased from Cargolux Airlines International, S. A.
Customer bookings jump 11.1% to 11,806,118 as cargo swells 19% to 19.36 million FTKs.
The number of airline workers is increased again in 1987, up 8.7% to 8,041. Flights linking Paris to Marseilles, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Nice, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulon account for 66% of the company’s traffic. New products include “Famille a Deux” (two family members for the price of one) and an airline “Escape” travel card. Capacity is enhanced by the use of a B-747-2B4BC leased, via Air France, from Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. (2).
Passenger boardings accelerate 8.5% to 12,804,283 while revenues move up to $1.18 billion.
The payroll climbs by 9.5% in 1988 to 8,830 and the fleet now includes 11 Mercures, 12 Caravelles, 18 A300B2/4s, 4 A320-111s, and 1 B-747-128, the latter chartered from Air France. Orders remain outstanding for one more A300B4 and six A320-211s. F-GGEA, the first of the A320-211s, for which the carrier is a launch customer, enters service on June 8. Consequently, authority is received to inaugurate regional services and flights to Ibiza and Madrid.
Customer bookings jump 7.4% to 13,750,179 and cargo rises 16.6% to 30.87 million FTKs. Although revenues are up by 9.6% to $1.18 billion, net income remains level at $23.2 million.
The number of employees swells 13.8% in 1989 to 10,050. In March, President Pierre Eelsen signs an important agreement with Air France CEO Bernard Attali. Under its terms, AF will operate domestic services within France on behalf of AI while AI will fly to regional European destinations on behalf of AF, including London (Gatwick), Madrid, Ibiza, Athens, Rome, Lisbon, and Venice. Additionally, greater technical cooperation begins between the two carriers.
Passenger boardings increase by 14.1% on the year to 15,688,394 while freight does slightly better, growing by 14.6% to 31.38 million FTKs. Revenues rise 9.2% to $1.28 billion. The operating profit is $21 million and net gain reaches $18 million.
Company employment is cut 20% in 1990 to 8,041. In January, Air France purchases 54.6% of UTA French Airlines, S. A. and thus gains control of IT. The two join Air Charter and their new parent on January 12 as subsidiaries of the new Air France Groupe. In debt $17 million, Lina Congo leases its single B-737 to the French airline in May in an effort to raise funds. During the summer, the ICS cargo subsidiary is reformed into Inter Ciel Service, S. A. and its aircraft are given a new blue and yellow paint scheme.
Customer bookings for the year slide upward 3% to 16,163,000, but cargo slips 0.2% to 42.7 million FTKs. While parent Air France retains its world ranking in freight, IT, the nation’s domestic airline, does still better with passengers and some find it ironic that IT, at number 17 in the world in that category, is a notch above its new owner. Although revenues climb 30.2% to $1.8 billion, expenses rise faster. As a result, a huge $91-million operating loss is suffered, along with a net loss of $31 million, the first significant losses in recent memory.
The payroll grows 24.4% in 1991 to an even 10,000 and the fleet now includes 1 chartered and 15 owned A300B2-1Cs, 3 leased and 4 owned A300B4s, 5 chartered and 2 owned A320-111s, 7 leased and 13 owned A320-211s and 11 Dassault Mercure 100s. Orders are outstanding for 7 A320-211s, 7 A321-111s, and 15 A330-301s.
Early in the year, the carrier is given permission to inaugurate service to any destination within range of its aircraft. During the year, the EU Commission will force France to slightly alter its rigid domestic air traffic policy by allowing Air Outre Mere, S. A. to inaugurate frequencies between Paris and Nice.
On August 2, Flight 6489 from Paris (ORY) to Marseilles begins IT’s final scheduled Caravelle rotation. Following special celebrations, complete with champagne and flowers, for the final Nantes-Paris (ORY) service on August 3, the last eight Caravelle Xlls commence their retirement from service, with two being sold to Air Provence International, S. A.
Competition with the expanding TGV high-speed train system of French Railways becomes intense. Once the railroad’s 2-hour service begins, IT bookings on the 250-mile Paris-Lyon route drop by 40%. A 27% interest is now taken in the newly created Orlyval, a ground-transport service between downtown Paris and Orly Airport.
Overall, passenger boardings for the year slip 2.2% to 15,801,000 as freight inches up 0.7% to 37.28 million FTKs. The year’s loss totals $7.8 million.
The Airbus component of the company’s fleet is dramatically increased in 1992 as 24 A320-211s (19 leased) and 7 A320-111s (4 chartered) are received.
On January 10, the carrier’s subsidiary, Sodetif, absorbs the Air France subsidiary Tourisme France International; IT interest is reduced from 65% to 30%.
En route from Lyon (Satolas Airport) to Strasbourg (Entzheim Airport) on January 20, Flight 148DA, an A320-111 with 6 crew and 90 passengers, crashes in fog and snow into a ridge of La Bloss mountain near Mont Ste-Odile, some eight mi. SW of Entzheim (87 dead).
During an A320-211 flight from Paris (ORY) to Malaga in July, a passenger notifies crew members that a fellow traveler has a gun; the aircraft returns to France where police discover that the bulge in the man’s pocket is a banana.
The first A330-300 makes its maiden flight on November 2. It will become the first airliner ever awarded simultaneous airworthiness certificates by both the U. S. FAA and the European JAA.
Although only 3.6% of delays result from reasons that are part of the carrier’s responsibilities, there are 15,000 late departures during the year, including 4,800 that depart more than 15 minutes behind schedule. Customer bookings on the 69-route system recover during the year and increase by 3% to 16.3 million; however, the company’s financial loss deepens to $11.8 million.
In 1993, the workforce totals 11,142 and the company’s 58-unit fleet flies to 50 domestic destinations; orders are outstanding for 15 A330-301s. On January 29, an agreement is signed that will lead to the liquidation of Orlyval.
The Paris to Dublin service of Air France is taken over on March 28 and operated by an IT A320-211.
While pushing back from Montpellier preparatory for departure on a service to Paris (ORY) on April 24, an A300B2-1C with 10 crew and 314 passengers strikes a light pole so severely that it is damaged beyond repair; there are no fatalities.
Weekly Airbus service is reintroduced on May 29 between Nice and Dublin.
In a further effort to boost ridership in competition with the highspeed TGV train, IT, taking a note from the book of America’s Southwest Airlines, begins to make speed, punctuality, and flexibility a corporate priority.
As a protest against government interference in the airline’s affairs, President Jean-Cyril Spinetta resigns in October; he is succeeded by Michel Bernard. Employees stage a 24-hour strike on November 10 causing delays.
A 35-year-old Algerian man takes over an A320-211, with 123 aboard, at Nice on December 10 and threatens to blow up the plane and passengers unless he is flown to Libya; he is talked into releasing his captives and surrenders.
The high-speed shuttle operations prove so successful that the company, despite bad weather and Air France strikes, is able to complete 99.3% of its departures, getting 89.5% of those aloft within 15 minutes of schedule; turnaround time is only 40 minutes.
Passenger boardings for the year inch up 0.3% to 16,583,491, but freight is down 5.2% to 36.97 million FTKs. A net $49-million loss is suffered.
The number of employees is cut by 1.3% in 1994 to 11,000 and the company takes delivery of its first A330-301 in January. It is employed to inaugurate service on Flight 412, from Paris (ORY) to Marseilles, on January 17. However, after experiencing two incidents in which the landing gear cannot be retracted after takeoff, it is taken out of passenger service and returned to Toulouse in February to undergo testing. Also during the month, orders are placed for nine A319s for delivery two years hence. The company now begins to retire its eight Mercures.
President Bernard introduces a recovery plan designed to return the company to profitability without layoffs. To accomplish this goal, IT will concentrate on corporate restructuring, renegotiation of disadvantageous contracts, increased productivity, and new business. The company is unhappily involved in an historic EU Commission ruling in April. As part of its ruling, in response to a complaint filed by TAT European Airlines, S. A. the previous year, the Commission requires IT to end the monopoly it has always enjoyed on domestic routes out of Paris (ORY). Company staff calls a one-day strike to protest the decree.
TAT initiates its competitive service on June 20 over IT’s once-exclusive route from Paris to Marseilles. In reaction to the requirement for the airline’s domestic competition, the government now authorizes IT to inaugurate flights from Paris and Nice to Dublin, Marseilles to Tunis and Algiers, and twice-daily service from Paris to Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the other Spanish communities of Alicante, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma, Seville, and Valencia.
Orders are placed on June 30 for nine A319-113s that are to begin delivery in two years. At the same time, orders are placed for five Fokker 100s with which to replace the Mercure fleet.
On the year, customer bookings recover, growing by 3% to 17.5 million (including 250,000 on international services), and revenues advance by 5.4% to $2.2 billion. The first net gain in five years is earned, $4 million.
The workforce totals 200 in 1995 and the fleet is increased by the addition of 12 Fokker 100s and 3 A330-301s. The Fokkers replace the company’s Dassault Mercures. In addition, one each A300B2-1C and A300B4-2C are leased to the new Turkish charter operator Holiday Airlines, A. O. During the first week of January, the EU Commission’s demand that France open Orly Airport to other carriers is honored.
In addition, the privately owned AOM French Airlines, S. A. and TAT European Airlines, S. A. are authorized to begin flying over the Paris-Marseilles route, which had been exclusively held by AI; another former exclusive route, Paris-Toulouse, is opened to service from Air Liberte, S. A. and TAT European Airlines, S. A. Still, the company maintains exclusive traffic rights to 50 city-pairs in the country.
When Air Liberte, S. A. introduces $100 roundtrip service between Paris and Toulouse during the year’s first week, IT counters with $49 tariffs; this pricing leads to the country’s first domestic airfare war. Air Liberte, S. A. Chairman/CEO Lofti Belhassine charges IT with predatory pricing practices and promptly files suit in the Paris Court and before the European Court of Justice.
The rate war intensifies in March when TAT European Airlines, S. A. begins flying the route. Employing Canadair RJ100 jets, Air Littoral, S. A. and Brit Air, S. A. launch “Air France-Air Inter Express” services over IT routes.
Following the announcement from the Air France leadership that it plans to merge its European business center operations with IT into a
Single Nouvelle Compagnie Europeenne, S. A., job security fear grips much of the IT workforce, particularly pilots, flight attendants, and ground handlers.
A three-day strike by those opposed to the union occurs during the third week of March that severely disrupts flight operations and forces the carrier to cancel some 200 flights each day. Despite the use of wet-lease aircraft, worker demonstrations over the next couple of weeks cause almost 1,500 flights to be withdrawn by mid-April, and startup of a new route from Paris (ORY) to Amsterdam is postponed. Job action-related costs to the carrier approach $20 million.
Unable to convince unhappy union leaders that the merger plan will be to their benefit, President Bernard resigns in mid-May; he is succeeded as acting chairman/CEO by the head of Air France, Christian Blanc.
To battle its private competitors, IT introduces a number of promotional fares at mid-year, including several as $40-$90 on certain domestic routes. It also increases the number of its international markets from 10-per-year earlier to 27. Former advertising executive Jean-Pierre Courcol is appointed CEO during the first week of September.
En route to Paris from Palma de Mallorca on September 3, an A300B4 with 298 passengers is taken over by a lone assailant who is protesting against French nuclear testing in the far Pacific. The aircraft is diverted to Geneva where the man is taken into custody.
Difficulties between the airline’s management and workers continues. During the first week of November, flight attendants walk off the job for three days, disrupting operations on every route. Pilots and flight engineers strike on November 10-12, grounding most of the company’s aircraft.
During those first two weeks, Air France management offers a generous financial buyout to those flight attendants willing to quit; hopes are held that about 1,200 cabin crew can be bought out within a year and a half. When flight attendant union delegates refuse to accept the idea, the airline’s leadership states that it will reduce flight attendant costs anyway, a statement not calculated to improve the company’s deteriorating relationship with its employees.
Nationwide strikes by ground transport workers paralyze the nation’s surface transport system during the last week of November, including the TGV high-speed trains that have bitten into IT profits over the last couple of years. The job actions bring chaos on the roads to Paris airports, but increases the airline’s traffic on the order of 30%. Still, pilots threaten to strike in further protest of the upcoming merger plan.
It will later be asserted that worker walkouts during the year have cost the company 600,000 boardings. At year’s end, orders for 11 more A330-301s is cancelled.
Passenger boardings drop by 8.2% to 15.7 million and the company goes into a financial nose dive, losing an unprecedented $100 million.
On January 1, 1996, Air France combines the carrier with its own medium-haul European services to create Air France Europe, S. A. The integration period will require 18 months, during which time the company will operate as Air Inter Europe, S. A.
AIR INTER EUROPE, S. A.: France (1996-1997). On January 1, 1996, Air France combines Air Inter, S. A. with its own medium-haul European services to create Air France Europe, S. A. The new Air France Europe unit, to be known for the next 18 months as Air Inter Europe, S. A., is given a fleet of 126 aircraft and 18,000 employees. The same day, domestic deregulation in France takes full effect.
Frequencies continue between the 50 former Air Inter city-pairs and to the onetime regional destinations of Air France. Meanwhile, independents such as Air Liberte, S. A. and AOM French Airlines, S. A., rapidly begin to expand the number of their domestic services.
The Air France Groupe demand that the company compete more economically with deep-discount independent carriers now forces AFE to ground its fleet of 10 A300B2-1Cs, 2 A300B4-2Cs, and 4 A330-301s in favor of 6 A320-111s, 29 A320-211s, 5 A321-111s, and 5 Fokker 100s.
CEO Jean-Pierre Courcol and his executives begin working to turn the company into a low-cost, no-frills airline that will operate a European route system larger than that of British Airways, Ltd. (2) or Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G.
Also during the first quarter, control is taken over Air Littoral, S. A. and its management is passed to Air France Europe. Thin routes are subcontracted to this carrier, flying them with Canadair Regional Jets.
In March, the newly renamed carrier takes over a number of Air France routes from France to the U. K., including the thrice-daily Paris (ORY) to London (LHR) services and those from London (LHR) to major French provincial cities.
To make Air Inter more competitive, “Euroconcept,” a new joint product with Air France, is introduced on April 1. Included in the package are low, special fares, reduced-fare cards for frequent flyers, enhanced boarding procedures, and upgraded in-flight services as flight attendants begin serving cookies and light snacks.
All through the spring rumors persist that Air France Europe will be merged into the major. The new unit starts off facing increased competition and its employees are soon faced with another reorganization plan that calls upon them for sacrifice and new efficiency. In late April, a pilot walkout forces the company to cancel 500 departures.
As competition with independent regionals intensifies over the busy routes from Paris to Nice and Montpelier, AFE is forced to reduce its fares by 20%-30% to stay competitive; consequently, fiscal loss is increased to $20 million per month. The fare reductions also bring a legal challenge from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V., Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System). The three foreign competitors allege to the competition directorate of the European Union that Air France is in breach of the terms of the bailout agreement and ask it (unsuccessfully as it turns out) to disallow a final $1-billion infusion in July.
During the third week of May, management announces that it will shortly begin implementation of a two-year restructuring plan. Key elements of the scheme include a further reduction in the number of unprofitable routes; a two-year wage freeze; a reduction in force of 900950, including 150 pilots; closer cooperation with Air France Groupe, including combined ground operations; additional capacity cuts; and the route changes.
Air France Chairman Blanc boldly announces the forthcoming closure of 15 loss-making AIE routes to Britain, Spain, and Portugal and three domestic ones. To counterbalance the shutdowns, he also proclaims the creation of a shuttle service on Air Inter’s three busiest routes, Paris (ORY)-Marseilles, Paris (ORY)-Toulouse, and Paris (ORY)-Nice.
In early June, the European Court of First Instance makes its first ever air transport ruling, upholding a European Commission finding that rejects the carrier’s claim that it must have a monopoly of the lucrative routes from Paris to Marseilles and Toulouse in order to cross-subsidize its unprofitable services.
The first of six A319-113s delivered days earlier enters service on June 21 on a service from Paris (ORY) to Lorient; the planes have 142 seats in an all-coach configuration.
On June 28, the carrier suffers a one-day strike by unions representing 75% of its workforce. AFE pilots also oppose a new wage-cutting proposal that will allow the merger of the airline’s European operations with those of the parent company. When they threaten further strike action on the eve of the summer holidays, management simply cancels all flights, neatly focusing the public’s outrage on the airline’s personnel instead of on its leaders.
Despite fierce union opposition, Air France Groupe Chairman Christian Blanc on July 4 officially introduces the long-anticipated plan to merge its international and regional carriers during the spring of 1997, just in time for the complete liberalization of internal air travel within the EU airline market. The Air France Groupe would then consist of the long-haul carrier Air France and the short-to-medium carrier Air France Europe (ex-Air Inter), both feeding passengers into each other’s network. Again the workers strike, curtailing operations on July 5.
The next day, representatives of the union Force Ouvriere, the highest representative body of employees at Air France that does not support the workers’ job action, announce their support for Chairman Blanc’s merger plan. During the month, two more A319-113s enter service.
The reorganization plan continues apace, the fleet begins rationalization, and new routes are started from Paris (ORY) to Madrid and Lisbon. Still, financial losses continue to mount; President Courcol admits, on August 1, that they total $20 million per month.
Upon landing at Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport on August 12, an A320-211 is met by two small vans and a group of armed men. The gang holds up a banner that reads: “Shut off the engines and open the hold.” The crew complies and, to the utter amazement of passengers looking out windows, the robbers quickly help themselves to 60 pounds of bank notes and then escape, speeding down the runway and into the city in a scene right out of a movie.
Citing continuing deep disagreement with employees over job cuts, President Courcol resigns during the last week of August. He is the fifth Air Inter CEO to resign in the past five years.
The fourth A319-113 is delivered on October 1. In an effort to reduce costs, the 3 domestic and 15 regional routes targeted in June are suspended on October 27; among these are the international services from Paris (ORY) to London and to Madrid, the frequency from Lyons to London, and the route from Marseilles to London.
La Navette shuttle service, based on those offered in the Northeast U. S. but still requiring reservations (there are no guaranteed seats and no backup aircraft) and offering light meals, is started on October 31 from a dedicated portion of Paris (ORY) Quest Terminal 2.
Employing all 29 of its narrow-body A320-211s, 2 of its 6 A320-111s, all 5 A321-111s, and 4 of its 6 A319-113s, La Navette offers 26 daily roundtrips to Toulouse, 15 to Nice, 27 to Marseilles, and 12 to Lyons. A number of these aircraft are also stationed at the provincial airports in order to operate early morning services to the French capital. Another A319-113 arrives in November.
On December 1, 100 more mechanics and flight dispatchers, together with reserved apron vehicles and their drivers/handlers, are dedicated to La Navette and service is increased between Paris (ORY) and the shuttle-cities of Toulouse, Marseilles, and Nice. An effort will be made to keep in touch with social events (festivals, races, and sport championships) in order to have a sufficient number of aircraft available to meet traffic demand. The last A319-113 is delivered in December.
Amidst the turmoil, passenger boardings inch up only 0.2% to 15.5 million and 11.62 million FTKs are operated, a large 12.2% decline. With revenues of $1.96 billion and expenses of $2.09 billion, there are sizeable losses: $128.3 million (operating) and $85.16 million (net).
On April 1, 1997, the carrier and Air France are grouped together under a joint management structure created under a management-lease arrangement between the flag carrier and its subsidiary. Operations are split between the domestic hub at Orly Airport and the international airport of Paris, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle. La Navette continues to offer 70-times-per-day roundtrips between Paris (ORY) and Toulouse, Marseilles, and Nice.
AIR INTER GABON, S. A.: BP 240, Port-Gentil, Gabon; Phone 241 55 31 44; Fax 241 55 21 08; Code AIG; Year Founded 1956. Originally formed as a charter carrier in 1956, Air Gabon commences scheduled services in 1961, initially between Port-Gentil and Lambarene. The Piper operator is reorganized and changes its name slightly in 1977 when the national carrier is renamed Air Gabon (Compagnie Na-tionale Air Gabon, S. A.). Ownership is held by Heli Gabon, S. A., which in turn is controlled by private Gabonese interests (51%) and Heli Union, S. A. of France (49%).
During the remainder of the decade, the fleet is increased; not only does it retain its 3 Piper PA-28 Cherokees, 2 PA-23 Aztecs, and 1 PA-31-310 Navajo, it obtains 5 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders and a BN-2A Trislander. Additional destinations visited link the capital of Libreville with Gamba, Ombue, Iguela, Tchibanga, Ouanga, Sette-Cama, Mayoumba, Manega, Mandji, Mevang, Nkan, and Fougamou.
From the early - to mid-1980s, the fleet is increased by the addition of 1 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 Twin Otter, 1 Aerospatiale SN-601 Corvette executive jetliner, and two Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains.
Also available are the rotary-wing units of Heli Gabon, S. A., which include 6 Aerospatiale Alouette IIIs, 2 Alouette IIs, and 1 Lama. Despite difficult economic times and low traffic patterns during the remainder of the decade, the carrier survives into the 1990s.
In 1990, the fleet comprises 2 Islanders, 1 Beech Super King Air 200, 1 DHC-6-300, and 1 Fokker F.27-500. Another Canadian turboprop is leased in 1991. In 1992, the company leases an Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 from TAT French Regional Airlines, S. A.
The fleet in 1993 comprises the leased ATR, 1 Beech Super King Air 200, 2 DHC-6-300s, and 2 Islanders. A pair of Cessna 402 Titan IIs is added in 1994.
Domestic scheduled services begin in 1995. One of the Islanders, with only its pilot aboard, is destroyed in a bad landing at Medouneu, Gabon, on July 8 (one dead).
A second ATR42-320 is leased from TAT European Airlines, S. A. in the fall of 1996 and is also employed to offer additional domestic and regional flights.
In 1997-1998, chairman Matre Louis Gaston Mayila’s 160-employee carrier continues service as before. During 1999, the second ATR is withdrawn and replaced with a Beech 1900D, which is used to launch scheduled regional flights.
AIR INTER IVOIRE, S. A.: Ivory Coast (1979-1988). Originally formed at Abidjan in 1979 as Interivoire, this privately owned carrier is created as an affiliated company by the French rotary-wing operator Heli Union, S. A. It provides passenger charter and contract service flights within the country and to various other destinations in West Africa with light aircraft, primarily Piper equipment. Operations continue apace during the 1980s until the company is folded into Air Ivoire (Societe Ivoirienne de Transport Aeriens, S. A.) in 1988.
World History
