Air Littoral
Encyclopedia
Air Littoral was an airline
in France
founded in 1972 and originally based at Montpellier - Méditerranée Airport in Montpellier
. In 1975 it was headquartered at Aérodrome du Castellet
.
Over the years KLM, Euralair
, Lufthansa
and the SAir Group (Swissair
) , who sold their stake in 2001, all had ownership stakes in Air Littoral. A takeover failed in 2003 and the company was declared bankrupt. A number of groups considered taking over Air Littoral including Azzurra Air
(which shortly after ceased operations due to its own financial difficulties), but none succeeded and the airline was closed down by the French authorities in February 2004.
By the moment bankruptcy Air Littoral had been operating a fleet of 17 CRJ-100s from bases in Nice, Montpellier, Paris (Orly) and Marseille, and was well known for the bright livery its aircraft sported in the years before its demise.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
founded in 1972 and originally based at Montpellier - Méditerranée Airport in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. In 1975 it was headquartered at Aérodrome du Castellet
Circuit Paul Ricard
The Paul Ricard Circuit is a motorsport race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the eccentric drinks magnate Paul Ricard, who created what essentially became Pernod Ricard...
.
Over the years KLM, Euralair
Euralair
Euralair was a charter airline based in France. Euralair was founded in 1964 as an air-taxi and executive charter company. In 1966 it became charter airline and operated its first charter flights in 1968 when received the first Fokker F-27 on November, 11, 1968 and the second on October, 15,...
, Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
and the SAir Group (Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
) , who sold their stake in 2001, all had ownership stakes in Air Littoral. A takeover failed in 2003 and the company was declared bankrupt. A number of groups considered taking over Air Littoral including Azzurra Air
Azzurra Air
Azzurra Air was a scheduled and charter airline based in Milan, Italy and flying to Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and other Mediterranean destinations.- History :...
(which shortly after ceased operations due to its own financial difficulties), but none succeeded and the airline was closed down by the French authorities in February 2004.
Fleet
In different periods of its history the company was operating the following aircraft:- ATR 42ATR 42-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
; - ATR 72ATR 72The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
; - Boeing 737—300Boeing 737 ClassicThe Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
; - Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaEmbraer EMB 120 Brasilia-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
; - Fokker 100;
- Fokker 70;
- Bombardier CRJ.
By the moment bankruptcy Air Littoral had been operating a fleet of 17 CRJ-100s from bases in Nice, Montpellier, Paris (Orly) and Marseille, and was well known for the bright livery its aircraft sported in the years before its demise.