Air France

Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before its merger with KLM, it was the national airline of France, employing 71,654 people (as of January 2005).

The company's headquarters are located at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris; these headquarters are now used by Air France-KLM). Between April 2001 and March 2002, the airline transported 43.3 million passengers and earned 12.53 billion Euro. Air France's subsidiary, Régional, operates regional jet and turboprop flights within Europe.

Air France-KLM union

Air France took over the Dutch company KLM in May 2004, resulting in the creation of Air France-KLM. Air France-KLM is the largest airline company in the world in terms of operating revenues, and the third-largest in the world (largest in Europe) in terms of passengers-kilometers.

History

Founded on October 7, 1933 through the merger of Air Orient, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA, the first French carrier, founded as Lignes Aériennes Farman in 1919), Air Union and CIDNA (Compagnie Internationale de Navigation). The airline had extensive routes across Europe, but also to French colonies in northern Africa and elsewhere. During World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca, Morocco; the airline was featured prominently in the film Casablanca.

After the Second World War the company was nationalized and Societe Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946. Compagnie Nationale Air France was created by a parliamentary act on June 16, 1948. The government held 70% of the new company and in mid-2002 still held a 54% stake in the airline. On August 4, 1948, Max Hymans was appointed president of Air France. During his thirteen years at the helm, he implemented a modernisation policy based on jet aircraft, specifically the Sud Aviation Caravelle and the Boeing 707. In 1949 the company was one of the founders of SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques). The airline used the De Havilland Comet for a short while from 1953, but soon replaced it with Vickers Viscounts. In 1959 the company started widespread use of the elegant twin-jet Sud Aviation Caravelle. It graduated to the use of Boeing aircraft, but as a national European carrier it became committed to Airbus designs from 1974.

In 1976, the airline started operating the Concorde SST supersonic airliner on the Paris-Charles de Gaulle to New York route as well as a number of other routes (those other routes were dropped in 1982). It flew the route Paris to New York City in 3 hours and 20 minutes, at about twice the speed of sound.

On 12 January 1990, the operations of all government owned airlines, Air France, Air Inter, Air Charter and UTA, were merged into the Air France Group. A new holding company Groupe Air France was set up by decree on 25 July 1994 and implemented on 1 September 1994. It had majority shareholdings in Air France and Air Inter (renamed Air France Europe). In 1997 Air France Europe was fully absorbed into Air France. On 10 February 1999 the French government partially privatised the airline on the Paris stock exchange. It became a founder member of the Skyteam Alliance in June 2000.

The five Air France Concordes were withdrawn from use on 31 May 2003 as a result of insufficient demand following the 2000 accident, along with higher fuel and maintenance costs. British Airways followed suit a few months later - their last Concordes flying on 24 October 2003. Concorde F-BVFA was transferred to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, an annex of the National Air & Space Museum. F-BVFB was given to a German museum, F-BTSD to the "Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace" in Paris, while F-BVFC was returned to its place of manufacture in Toulouse (France) at the Airbus factory.

On September 30, 2003, Air France and Netherlands-based KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), announced the merging of the two airlines, the new company to be known as Air France-KLM. The merger became reality on May 5, 2004. Former Air France shareholders own 81% of the new firm (44% owned by the French government, 37% by private shareholders), while former KLM shareholders hold the rest. The French government's share of Air France was reduced from 54.4 per cent (of the former Air France) to 44 per cent (of the current Air France-KLM), thus in effect privatizing Air France. In December 2004 the French state sold 18.4% of its equity stake in the Air France-KLM Group, reducing its stake to just under 20%.

Incidents and accidents

On October 27, 1949, boxer Marcel Cerdan and violinist Ginette Neveu died when an Air France flight crashed into a mountain after two failed attempts to make a landing at the São Miguel Island airport in the Azores.
3 June, 1962: A chartered Boeing 707-328 (registration ) from Orly Airport (Paris, France) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) crashed during take-off; 130 of the total 132 people on board were killed. Two flight attendants sitting in the aft (tail or rear) section of the aircraft were miraculously saved.

Following an investigation a faulty servo motor was found, which led to an improper (and non-adjustable) elevator trim. Brake marks measuring 1,500 feet (457 m) were found on the runway, indicating that the cockpit crew tried desperately to abort take-off. The aircraft, unable to obtain the necessary lift, rolled right while only seven feet (2 m) from the ground, causing its right wing to hit the ground. The 707-328 crashed 50 yards (45 m) from the runway and exploded.

June 22, 1962: A Boeing 707-328 crashed into a hill during bad weather, while attempting to land in Guadeloupe, West Indies, killing all 113 on board.

The aircraft was attempting a non-precision NDB approach. A malfunctioning VOR station, and poor NDB reception due to thunderstorms in the area, were blamed for the accident.

On June 26, 1988, Flight 296, an Airbus A320 of Air France crashed near the airfield of Mulhouse-Habsheim during an airshow, in Alsace/France. The aircraft overflew the airfield in good weather. Seconds later the aircraft touched the tops of trees behind the runway and crashed into a forest. Three passengers died in the accident and about 50 were injured.
In 1994, a group of men from the Algerian group GIA hijacked Flight 8969, intending to crash it into the Eiffel Tower. French GIGN intervened and prevented an incident.
On July 25, 2000, Flight 4590, a chartered Concorde departing from De Gaulle airport in Paris bound for JFK crashed just after take-off in Gonesse impacting an hotel. All 109 people on board died plus four people on the ground.
On August 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340 (registration ) with 297 passengers and 12 crew, overran the runway and crashed into trees at Toronto Pearson International Airport in bad weather conditions. The aircraft caught fire. All passengers survived, although a reported 43 people were taken to hospital for minor injuries. Emergency services were on the scene of the crash in under 60 seconds.
On May 4, 2006, An Airbus 340-300 operating as Flight 10, en route from CDG-JFK, was forced to make an emergency landing at St. John's after the crew was forced to shut down one of its engines.

Air France has been the target of many hijackings: 1973 Marseille; 1976 Benghazi (Operation Entebbe) and Ho Chi Minh City; 1977 Benghazi; 1983 Geneva; 1984 Geneva twice; 1989 Algiers; 1993 Nice; 1994 Algiers; 1999 Paris. On December 24, 2003, three Air France flights bound for LAX were cancelled because of fears that terrorist group members would board.

Destinations

Most of Air France's flights leave from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France also has a strong presence in Paris-Orly and Saint-Exupéry.

Fleet

Current fleet

The Air France fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of July 2006):

Short-haul:

Long haul:

Freight:

Boeing 747 (14)

Air France plans to phase out their Boeing 747-200s and 747-300s by the end of 2009. The Boeing 737s will leave the company before the end of 2007.

Aircraft orders

On 22 February 2005 Air France placed a firm order for 4 further Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, adding to 10 previously ordered (4 delivered). The airline had previously ordered 18 Boeing 777-200ERs.

Air France has ordered 10 Airbus A380 aircraft, with options on a further 4 aircraft, and in November 2006 will become the first European operator of the A380. A further 3 aircraft will be delivered in the spring of 2007, with the remaining 6 over the following 2 years. The A380 will initially be used on North Atlantic route services from Paris to Montreal and New York and in 2008, as additional aircraft arrive, on services to Beijing and Tokyo (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).

On 20 May 2005 Air France signed an agreement with Boeing to convert three of its former combi Boeing 747-400 aircraft, currently in all passenger configuration, into full freighter configuration under the Boeing 747-400SF (Special Freighter) programme. The first modified aircraft will be delivered in June 2007, enabling acceleration of the phasing out of old Boeing 747-200 Freighters (ref: Air International, July 2005).

On 23 May 2005 Air France agreed to purchase 5 Boeing 777-200F aircraft (with 3 further options), making it the launch customer of the Boeing 777 Freighter along with Air Canada who ordered 2. First delivery will be in late 2008, commencing replacement of the airline's Boeing 747-200F fleet (ref: Air International, July 2005).

Retired aircraft

External links

Worldperks

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