Euroberlin France was a Franco-German joint venture airline founded in 1988.
126-581: It was jointly owned by Air France and Lufthansa , with the former holding a 51% stake and the latter the remaining 49%. Euroberlin France's corporate headquarters was located in Paris , France while Berlin Tegel Airport in what used to be West Berlin in the days prior to Germany 's reunification was its operational headquarters. The airline commenced commercial operations from Tegel Airport at
252-563: A GDS ) that would enable travel agencies to sell the founders and other airlines' products from a single system. In 1988, Air France was a launch customer for the fly-by-wire (FBW) A320 narrowbody twin, along with Air Inter and British Caledonian . It became the first airline to take delivery of the A320 in March 1988, and along with Air Inter became the first airlines to introduce Airbus A320 service on short-haul routes. On 12 January 1990,
378-491: A Philippine One-Eleven while on the ground, but was eventually overpowered by the cockpit crew following hours of negotiation. No passengers or crew were injured. Philippine Airlines replaced the type with the Boeing 737 from 1989 onwards. Romania was a major customer for British-produced One-Elevens, with several large orders in the 1970s. These aircraft were often fitted with equipment such as engine ' hush kits '. In May 1977,
504-523: A contract for One-Eleven licence production in Romania. This was to involve the delivery of three complete One-Elevens (two 500-series aircraft and one 475 series) plus the construction of at least 22 in Bucharest, with the reduction of British (and thus increase of Romanian) content. It also involved Romanian production of Rolls-Royce Spey engines and certification of the aircraft to British standards by
630-446: A deal with German firm Intro Aviation by the end of Q1 of 2014. In 2014, the airline was targeted by a negative publicity campaign, spearheaded by PETA , for being the only major airline that permits the transport of primates for research. In 2022, the airline announced it would stop transporting nonhuman primates. On 4 February 2014, the new business product was unveiled, featuring a fully flat bed from Zodiac Aerospace. The seat
756-541: A foreign aircraft type for its fleet. Braniff International Airways, another major US air carrier, also ordered the One-Eleven. Aloha Airlines selected the One-Eleven as its first jet type for interisland service in the Hawaiian Islands . Several British operators, including Dan Air and British Caledonian , made extensive use of the type. Dan Air increased the number of One-Elevens it had in service in
882-490: A high aircraft utilisation at week-ends when frequencies on its scheduled route network were reduced. By 1990 Euroberlin's fleet had expanded to seven Boeing 737-300s. This firmly established it as the third-largest contemporary airline operator at Berlin Tegel, a position previously held by UK independent Dan-Air Services . (Dan-Air had established a base at Berlin Tegel in 1969 and was the airport's third-largest operator during
1008-649: A jointly owned operating company in which Air France became the controlling shareholder . This was achieved by Air France taking a 51% majority stake (as opposed to Lufthansa's 49% minority stake), thereby making Euroberlin a French legal entity and enabling it to conduct commercial airline operations in West Berlin. To make the newly formed airline cost -competitive with incumbents Pan Am and British Airways, Luton -based UK independent Monarch Airlines and its sister company Monarch Aircraft Engineering were contracted to provide all aircraft and flightdeck crew as well as
1134-716: A lease to occupy the building in 1991. The site also formerly housed the New York City ticket office for Air France. Air France-KLM's head office for the United Kingdom and Ireland operations, which includes facilities for Air France and KLM , is located in Plesman House in Hatton Cross. The facility's inauguration was on 6 July 2006. Air France moved the office from Hounslow to Hatton. Air France Cité PN, located at Charles de Gaulle Airport, acts as
1260-402: A limit of 1.4% maximum increase in capacity from 25 March 2012 to 28 October 2012. On 21 June 2012, Air France-KLM had announced its decision to cut just under 10% of the total 53,000 workforce (about 5,000 jobs) by the end of 2013 in an attempt to restore profitability. The airline expected to lose 1,700 jobs through natural turnover and the rest by voluntary redundancies. As of August 2012,
1386-886: A major cooperation agreement between British Aerospace and the Romanian government was signed, and this led to a gradual One-Eleven technology transfer to Romania. Full contracts for licence production under the Rombac name followed two years later. Complete airframes and components were provided to assist in the venture. All Rombac One-Elevens manufactured by Romaero were delivered to TAROM and Romavia , which leased them to airlines across both Eastern and Western Europe. Rombac-produced One-Elevens would be adopted by many emerging operators globally, including Lauda Air in Austria, and Aero Asia International in Pakistan. Two planes served as
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#17327908000181512-560: A major share of long-haul business traffic from London Heathrow , which opened to unrestricted competition on that day as a result of the " Open Skies " pact between the EU and US. It was envisaged that Air France and Delta would begin nine daily round trips between London-Heathrow and destinations in the US, including a daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service by Air France. Once the new Air France-Delta venture received antitrust immunity , it
1638-599: A modified cockpit which incorporated instrumentation and avionics from or similar to that of the Hawker Siddeley Trident , for better commonality with the type. Their additional equipment included a more sophisticated autopilot , which allowed autoland in CAT II and included an autothrottle. The modifications went as far as reversing the "on" position of most switches to match that of the Trident; indeed,
1764-403: A much slower pace than foreseen in the contract. Nine aircraft were delivered, with the 10th and 11th aircraft on the production line being abandoned when they were 85% and 70% complete. The first aircraft was delivered to TAROM on 29 December 1982. The Romanian carrier took delivery of all but two of the aircraft produced, the remaining two going to Romavia , the last of which (YR-BRI cn 409)
1890-512: A multi-airline strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines , China Eastern Airlines and Virgin Atlantic , solidifying the existing ties between the carriers. Under the agreement Delta and China Eastern would each buy 10% of Air France-KLM, while Air France-KLM would buy 31% of Virgin Atlantic. In December 2019, the purchase of Virgin Atlantic was cancelled. Air France announced it would terminate services to Iran from September 2018, explaining
2016-679: A new engine would have resolved noise and fuel economy issues. Following the fall of the Ceaușescu regime , plans were made to restart production using the Rolls-Royce Tay . British aircraft leasing company Associated Aerospace agreed a $ 1 billion deal to purchase 50 Tay-powered One-Elevens fitted with a new electronic glass cockpit for onward leasing to Western customers. The liquidation of Associated Aerospace in April 1991 stopped this deal. Despite this setback, Rombac continued to try to sell
2142-489: A paper calling for a "second generation" jet airliner to operate beside their existing turboprop designs. This led to a variety of designs from the British aerospace industry. Hunting Aircraft started design studies on a jet-powered replacement for the successful Vickers Viscount , developing the 30-seat Hunting 107 . Around the same time, Vickers started a similar development of a 140-seat derivative of its VC10 project,
2268-546: A result of an order for five aircraft by the Romanian airline Tarom . British production continued until 1984, with a total of 235 aircraft built in Britain. There were two reasons why the production line was kept open for just 35 aircraft delivered over 11 years: first, BAC hoped that Rolls-Royce would develop a quieter and more powerful version of the Spey engine, making possible further One-Eleven developments; second, throughout
2394-594: A result of the collaborative agreement with Air France was contradicted by the latter's counter claim that it was still losing money on these routes, in spite of that agreement. This in turn led to the agreement's termination as of November 1, 1972. The same day, Air France introduced a second daily return flight between Orly and Tegel, which routed via Cologne in both directions to maintain the airline's internal German traffic rights from/to Berlin. From April 1, 1974, Air France routed both of its daily Orly–Tegel services via Cologne, and from November 1, 1974, it switched them to
2520-602: A result of these arrangements, most employees on Euroberlin's payroll were flight attendants . ( Groundhandling at Tegel Airport and the other stations served was outsourced to a third party handling agent as well.) German reunification in October 1990 resulted in Air France and Lufthansa adjusting their stakes in Euroberlin so that each airline owned exactly 50% of its share capital . This in turn resulted in
2646-455: A result, BAC One-Eleven aircraft registered in any EU Member State are no longer eligible for a normal certificate of airworthiness. In December 2012, the last operational One-Eleven in the UK, which had continued to fly as a military aircraft, was retired. Eventually, on 7 May 2019, the last flyable One-Eleven was retired by Northrop Grumman after serving as an F-35 testbed. The BAC One-Eleven
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#17327908000182772-461: A single aircraft type fleet built around the Boeing 737-300 throughout its entire existence. All aircraft operated were subleased from Monarch Airlines , which in turn had leased the aircraft from external lessors . From the start of the 1989 summer season, a fifth Boeing 737-300 was leased from Monarch Airlines. By 1990, the Euroberlin fleet comprised seven Boeing 737-300s, all of which were leased from Monarch. Euroberlin's fleet eventually grew to
2898-470: A small airline, LAR, its sole destination being Tel Aviv. One-Elevens remained in widespread use with European operators into the 1990s. Once retired from major operators, they were often sold to smaller airlines, often in the Far East and Africa. Nigeria was a major operator until the type was grounded after a crash in 2002. A major factor for the withdrawal from European service of remaining One-Elevens
3024-562: A ticket and information agency in the former air terminal in Invalides, targeting transit passengers and customers from offices and companies in the Invalides area. BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111 / BAC 1-11 ) is an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it
3150-556: A total of ten aircraft, following the introduction of an additional three 737-300s during the 1990/'91 winter season. Air France Air France ( French pronunciation: [ɛːʁ fʁɑ̃s] ; legally Société Air France, S.A. ), stylised as AIRFRANCE , is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France . It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of
3276-553: A two-compartment cabin that could accommodate 14 to 16 passengers. A high-wing monoplane, it had a wooden fuselage with composite coating while the wings were fabric-covered with a metal leading edge. Equipped with Hispano-Suiza V-engines, they were used on routes in Europe, South America and the Far East. Although cruising at only 175 miles per hour, the Potez 62 was a robust and reliable workhorse for Air France and remained in service until
3402-475: The 15th arrondissement of Paris . By 1991, two bids for the purchase of the Square Max Hymans building had been made. By 1992, the complex was sold to Mutuelle générale de l'Éducation nationale [ fr ] (MGEN) for 1.6 billion francs . By that year, Air France had planned to move its head office to Roissypôle, taking 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft) of space inside
3528-546: The Airbus A380 on 20 November 2009 with service from Paris to New York . Air France Hop (formerly HOP!) operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of regional jet aircraft. Air France was formed on 30 August 1933, from a merger of Air Orient , Air Union , Compagnie Générale Aéropostale , Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA) and Société Générale des Transports Aériens (SGTA). Of these airlines, SGTA
3654-585: The City 's financial services industry. However, the daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service was not as successful as hoped, and was discontinued in November 2008. On 12 January 2012, Air France-KLM announced a three-year transformation plan, called Transform 2015, to restore profitability. The plan was to restore competitiveness through cost-cutting, restructuring the short- and medium-haul operations and rapidly reducing debt. The main objective of this plan
3780-638: The Civil Aviation Authority . A market for up to 80 Romanian-built aircraft was projected at the time, largely in China and other developing economies, and possibly Eastern Europe . The aircraft was redesignated Rombac 1-11 . The Spey 512-14 DW engines were produced under license by Turbomecanica Bucharest. The first Rombac One-Eleven, (YR-BRA cn 401) a series 561RC, was rolled out at Romaero Băneasa factory on 27 August 1982 and first flew on 18 September 1982. Production continued until 1989 at
3906-477: The European Union 's internal air transport market. On 25 July 1994, a new holding company, Groupe Air France, was set up by decree. Groupe Air France became operational on 1 September 1994. It acquired the Air France group's majority shareholdings in Air France and Air Inter (subsequently renamed Air Inter Europe). On 31 August 1994, Stephen Wolf , a former United Airlines CEO, was appointed adviser to
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4032-569: The French state 's direct and indirect shareholdings reached almost 100%. In mid-2002 the state held 54%. On 4 August 1948, Max Hymans was appointed the president. During his 13-year tenure he would implement modernisation practices centred on the introduction of jet aircraft . In 1949 the company became a co-founder of Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA) , an airline telecommunications services company. In 1952, Air France moved its operations and engineering base to
4158-613: The Maghreb region, Eastern Europe (except the USSR ), Southern Europe (except Greece and Italy), and one daily service to New York (JFK) remained at Orly. In 1974, Air France also became the world's first operator of the Airbus A300 twin-engine widebody plane, Airbus Industrie 's first commercial airliner for which it was a launch customer. On 21 January 1976, Air France operated its inaugural supersonic transport (SST) service on
4284-732: The Roissypôle complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. Air France was formed on 30 August 1933 as a merger of Air Orient , Air Union , Compagnie Générale Aéropostale , Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA), and Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA) . During the Cold War , from 1950 until 1990, it was one of the three main Allied scheduled airlines operating in Germany at West Berlin 's Tempelhof and Tegel airports. In 1990, it acquired
4410-649: The Second World War with one used by the Free French Air Force . On 26 June 1945, all of France's air transport companies were nationalised . On 29 December 1945, a decree of the French Government granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network. Air France appointed its first flight attendants in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at Les Invalides in central Paris. It
4536-614: The SkyTeam airline alliance. As of 2013, Air France served 29 destinations in France and operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 201 destinations in 78 countries (93 including overseas departments and territories of France ) and also carried 46,803,000 passengers in 2019. The airline's global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport , with Orly Airport as the primary domestic hub. Air France's corporate headquarters , previously in Montparnasse , Paris, are located at
4662-693: The VC11 . Many other aviation firms also produced designs. In 1960 Hunting, under British government pressure, merged with Vickers-Armstrongs , Bristol , and English Electric to form British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). The new BAC decided that the Hunting project had merit, but that there would be little market for a 30-seat jet airliner. The design was reworked into the BAC 107, a 59-seat airliner powered by two 7,000 pounds-force (31 kN) Bristol Siddeley BS75 turbofan engines. BAC also continued development of
4788-484: The speed of sound . Approval for flights to the United States was initially withheld due to noise protests. Eventually, services to Mexico City via Washington, D.C., were started. Air France became one of only two airlines – British Airways being the other – to regularly operate supersonic services, and continued daily transatlantic Concorde service until late May 2003. By 1983, Air France's golden jubilee ,
4914-416: The "France" suffix being dropped from the airline's name. Euroberlin was dissolved at the end of 1994. Several years of successive declines and stagnation of scheduled internal German air traffic from and to West Berlin during the 1970s and early 1980s were followed by renewed expansion in this market from the mid-1980s. During the prolonged period of decline/stagnation, Pan Am and British Airways ,
5040-429: The 1970s, eventually replacing its aging de Havilland Comets with the One-Eleven entirely in the 1980s. The type became the airline's main revenue generator. Dan Air would often lease One-Elevens, including Rombac-produced aircraft, to meet short-term demands. During periods of low demand Dan Air would lease its own One-Elevens to other operators. British Caledonian and Dan Air One-Elevens would often be exchanged between
5166-488: The 1990s, and the last BAC One-Eleven was retired in 2019. In the 1950s, although the pioneering de Havilland Comet had suffered disasters in service, strong passenger demand had been demonstrated for jet propulsion. Several manufacturers raced to release passenger jets, including those aimed at the short-haul market, such as the Sud Aviation Caravelle . In July 1956, British European Airways published
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5292-517: The 25% stake in Alitalia, as it was hesitant the struggling carrier would obtain the 300 million euros in financing. The group has denied Alitalia of additional funds as it is currently struggling to restructure itself to profitability with the Transform 2015 plan. In December 2013, Air France announced that Cityjet no longer meets the short haul needs of the group and is in the process of closing
5418-458: The 400 fuselage with the higher power and larger wing of the 500 and was intended for hot and high as well as rough airfield operations; however only ten One-Eleven Mk 475s were sold with one airline being Faucett Peru which operated its series 475 aircraft on scheduled domestic services into several airports with unpaved gravel runways in Peru. In 1977, the One-Eleven 670, a quiet and updated 475,
5544-538: The 400-series, making the airline the largest customer of One-Elevens. The prototype ( G-ASHG ) rolled out of Hurn assembly hall on 28 July 1963, at which point BAC had received orders for the type from a number of operators. On 20 August 1963, the prototype conducted its first flight, painted in BUA livery. The first flight had taken place almost a year before the Douglas DC-9, a rival American jetliner; BAC considered
5670-539: The 510ED was so different from other One-Elevens and 500 series aircraft that a different type rating was required to fly it. Having faced competition from US aircraft by 1966, by 1970 the One-Eleven also faced competition from newer, smaller aircraft such as the Fokker F28 Fellowship . The F28 was lighter, less complex, and cheaper. The One-Eleven 475 of 1970 was launched to compete with the F28. It combined
5796-440: The Air France group's chairman Christian Blanc . Wolf was credited with the introduction of Air France's hub and spoke operation at Paris Charles de Gaulle. Wolf resigned in 1996 to take over as CEO at US Airways . In 1997, Air Inter Europe was absorbed into Air France. On 19 February 1999, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin 's Plural Left government approved Air France's partial privatisation . Its shares were listed on
5922-547: The Berlin– Frankfurt and Berlin– Munich routes. The agreement's intention was to enable both BEA and Air France to compete better with Pan Am's more frequent services on these routes by pooling their resources. It entailed the joint operation of these routes from Tempelhof with BEA BAC One-Eleven 500 aircraft, BEA flightdeck crews and mixed BEA/Air France cabin crews . However, BEA's claim that it returned to profitability on both its Frankfurt and Munich routes from Berlin as
6048-654: The Boeing 727. These factors led to Trans Australia Airlines choosing to purchase the DC-9 instead. In the US, the Civil Aeronautics Board was sceptical of smaller operators' need for jet aircraft and withheld financing, leading to several US customers cancelling their One-Eleven orders. Mohawk Airlines became both the first American operator of the type and the first airline in the US to operate jet aircraft on short haul routes. On 25 June 1965, Mohawk introduced its first One-Eleven into passenger service; by
6174-573: The French capital's then new Charles de Gaulle Airport . At the start of the 1976 summer timetable, Air France introduced a third daily CDG –Tegel frequency, which routed via Düsseldorf and utilised the Boeing 727-200 , a bigger aircraft than the Caravelles used on the company's other services from/to Berlin. Air France subsequently routed all of its CDG–Tegel flights via Düsseldorf and standardised
6300-474: The Japanese market, with the same stretched fuselage and engines as the 700 and a new high-lift wing for operation into regional airports with short runways. The 700 was approximately the same size as the latest DC-9s and 737s and would have been available in time to prevent large-scale defections by One-Eleven clients to McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing. Rolls-Royce was still recovering from bankruptcy, however, and
6426-514: The One-Eleven 300 and 400. The new versions used the Mk. 511 version of the Spey with increased power, allowing more fuel upload and hence longer range. The difference between the 300 and 400 lay in the equipment and avionics , the 400 intended for sales in the United States and thus equipped with US instruments. On 17 July 1963, American Airlines ordered 15 aircraft, bringing the total to 60, plus options for 15. American Airlines eventually bought 30 of
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#17327908000186552-563: The One-Eleven 500 was longer by 8 ft 4in (2.54 m) ahead of the wing and 5 ft 2in (1.57 m) behind it. The wing span was increased by 5 ft (1.5 m), and the latest Mk. 512 version of the Spey was used. The new version sold reasonably well across the world, particularly to European charter airlines. In 1971 it received an incremental upgrade to reduce drag and reduce runway requirements. BEA/British Airways 500 series aircraft (denoted One-Eleven 510ED) varied significantly from other One-Elevens, at BEA's request. The One-Eleven 510ED had
6678-490: The One-Eleven being gradually phased out for the more modern A320 and Boeing 737 jetliners. The last aircraft was removed from regular service with BA in October 1992. A number of ex-BA aircraft saw service with Maersk Air before, in turn, being replaced by the Bombardier CRJ200 in the late 1990s. In Ireland Aer Lingus flew One-Elevens for three decades, in both the scheduled and charter markets. The aircraft
6804-635: The One-Eleven to hold a technological edge. The One-Eleven's lead was of significant importance commercially, since, as shown by the Bonanza Air Lines case, US authorities could refuse to approve sales of foreign aircraft to domestic airlines where an American alternative existed (Bonanza ended up ordering and operating the DC-9). Test flying was conducted by Squadron Leader Dave Glaser . The One-Eleven prototype, flown by test pilot Mike Lithgow , crashed on 22 October 1963 during stall testing, with
6930-406: The One-Eleven with the Boeing 737 in the mid-1990s. In April 1966, Philippine Airlines began operating One Elevens in revenue service. They eventually operated 12 of the later 500-Series. One of these aircraft suffered two separate in-flight bomb explosions, but was repaired each time and continued in service until 1992. In another high-profile incident on 21 May 1982, John Clearno tried to hijack
7056-575: The One-Eleven's control system. It also redesigned the wing's leading edge to smooth airflow into the engines and over the tailplane. The specially modified aircraft used for testing this problem is now preserved at Brooklands Museum . Despite the crash, testing continued and customer confidence remained high. American Airlines and Braniff took up their optional orders and placed more in February 1964. Further orders came from Mohawk, Philippine Airlines and German businessman Helmut Horten , who ordered
7182-556: The One-Eleven, with US operator Kiwi International Air Lines placing a firm order for 11 Tay-engined aircraft with options for an additional five, but these plans never happened. Once in service, the One Eleven found itself in competition with the Douglas DC-9, and was joined by another competitor, the Boeing 737, only a year after its introduction. Advantages over the DC-9 included a lower unit cost. The DC-9 offered more seating, and its engines were interchangeable with those on
7308-550: The Paris stock exchange on 22 February 1999. In June 1999, Air France and Delta Air Lines formed a bilateral transatlantic partnership . On 22 June 2000, this expanded into the SkyTeam global airline alliance . On 30 September 2003, Air France and Netherlands -based KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced the merger of the two airlines, with the new company to be known as Air France–KLM. The merger took place on 5 May 2004. At that point former Air France shareholders owned 81% of
7434-415: The Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to Rio (via Dakar ) route with Anglo-French BAC-Aérospatiale Concorde F-BVFA. Supersonic services from Paris (CDG) to Washington Dulles International Airport began on 24 May 1976, also with F-BVFA. Service to New York (JFK) – the only remaining Concorde service until its end – commenced on 22 November 1977. Paris to New York was flown in 3 hours 23 minutes, at about twice
7560-468: The Transform 2015 plan was accepted by ground staff and pilot unions but rejected by cabin crew unions. At the beginning of July 2012, it was announced that Air France-KLM found partners for the new African start-up airline Air France, which was co-founded by six countries in Central Africa to replace the former Air Afrique . But several problems and two partners, who decided to back out, delayed
7686-585: The aircraft equipment on the 727-200/200 Advanced .) The perceived lack of genuine competition in a growing market coincided with continuing criticism of the ailing Pan Am's internal German operation. This, as well as the desire to establish a bridgehead in Europe in anticipation of European air transport liberalisation , resulted in US majors American Airlines , Continental Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Northwest Airlines and TWA expressing an interest in breaking
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#17327908000187812-506: The aircraft's fuselage titles. German [re-]unification moreover changed Euroberlin's strategic role for Lufthansa in the Berlin market. Henceforth, the German flag carrier subcontracted Euroberlin to operate some of its internal German services from Berlin Tegel for a limited period, during which it gradually replaced Euroberlin's aircraft and employees with its own planes and staff. This
7938-543: The aircraft's maintenance support under a wet lease arrangement. Furthermore, all functions other than employing and managing local flight attendants as well as the operational management of the airline were outsourced. Operations commenced on November 7, 1988 with four Boeing 737-300s leased from Monarch. These inaugurated high-frequency shuttle services from Berlin Tegel to Cologne/ Bonn , Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart . Euroberlin's livery incorporated elements of both Air France's and Lufthansa's contemporary liveries using
8064-455: The airline profitable within a relatively short period of time, with an average scheduled load factor of 60%. Following German [re-]unification on October 3, 1990, Air France reduced its stake in Euroberlin by 1%, while Lufthansa increased its stake by the same amount. This resulted in both airlines becoming equal owners of Euroberlin. It also resulted in Euroberlin dropping the "France" suffix from its name, including its physical removal from
8190-477: The airline received some of the last British-made One-Elevens. British Caledonian had begun replacing its One-Elevens with the new Airbus A320, when it was merged with British Airways in 1987 due to financial problems. In both Caledonian and British Airways service, the One-Elevens were a dominant type for the operator's European routes. BA proceeded to rationalise its fleets, retiring many overlapping types,
8316-518: The airline's crew base. The building, developed by Valode & Pistre , opened in February 2006. The first phase consisted of 33,400 square metres (360,000 sq ft) of space and 4,300 parking spaces. The building is connected to the Air France head office. Air France operates the Air France Vaccinations Center in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The centre distributes vaccines for international travel. Since 2001
8442-518: The airport are visible from the building. The Air France Operations Control Centre ( OCC , French: Centre de Contrôle des Opérations, CCO ), which coordinates Air France flights worldwide, is situated at the AF head office. For about 30 years prior to December 1995, Air France's headquarters were located in a tower adjacent to the Gare Montparnasse rail station in the Montparnasse area and
8568-734: The centre was the only French vaccination centre certified International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001. In 2005, the centre moved from the Aérogare des Invalides to its current location. The Aérogare des Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris houses the Agence Air France Invalides and the Air France Museum. Until 2005, the building hosted the Air France Vaccinations Centre. On 28 August 1959, Air France opened
8694-465: The choice of developing the X-Eleven or joining European efforts to design an-all new aircraft. In the end, BAe became a full member of Airbus, and the X-Eleven was abandoned, with the European alternative becoming the Airbus A320. The BAC Two-Eleven and Three-Eleven were British airliner studies proposed by the British Aircraft Corporation in the late 1960s which never made it to production. On 9 June 1979, Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu signed
8820-442: The concern that the route to Iran is no longer commercially viable due to the redefined US sanctions . In December 2018, Anne Rigail was appointed as Executive Director of the company. Air France's head office is located in the Roissypôle complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport and in the commune of Tremblay-en-France , Seine-Saint-Denis, near the city of Paris. Wil S. Hylton of The New York Times described
8946-399: The creation of two private airlines: Transports Aériens Internationaux – later Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux – (TAI) and SATI. In 1949, the latter became part of Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT), a private French international airline. Compagnie Nationale Air France was created by act of parliament on 16 June 1948. Initially, the government held 70%. In subsequent years
9072-476: The decade from 1978 until 1988.) During the 1990/91 winter season, Euroberlin leased a further three 737-300s, two of which were previously operated by Aéromaritime. Euroberlin quickly made a name for itself in the Berlin air transport market and acquired a loyal customer following as a result of its high-quality in-flight service, which was modelled on Air France's contemporary, short-haul European in-flight service. This, as well as its low cost base , helped make
9198-407: The early part of the period Romania was negotiating to buy the entire One-Eleven programme and transfer production of the type to Bucharest . By 1974, BAC invested significant effort into launching the One-Eleven 700. This had a longer fuselage with a 134-seat interior and the projected 16,900 lbf (75 kN) Spey 606 engine producing greater power and less noise. The 700J was planned for
9324-458: The end of 1965 airlines had received 34 aircraft. Demand remained buoyant, with a second production line set up at Weybridge - producing 13 1-11s between 1966 and 1970. In 1967 a larger 119-seat version was introduced as the One-Eleven 500 (also known as Super One-Eleven). This "stretched" version was delayed for at least a year while its launch customer BEA assessed its requirements. This gave competing US aircraft (the Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737)
9450-438: The end of the decade, the airline operated a fleet of 20 BAC One-Elevens. Buying the jets pushed Mohawk into debt and this, along with an economic downturn and strike action , led to its forced merger with Allegheny Airlines which in turn continued to operate the One-Eleven. In July 1963, American Airlines had placed an order for 15 400-series One-Elevens for £14 million; this was the first time American Airlines had purchased
9576-528: The facility as "a huge white box that squats near the runways at Charles de Gaulle Airport." The 130,000-square-metre (1,400,000 sq ft) complex was completed in December 1995. The French firm Groupement d'Etudes et de Méthodes d'Ordonnancement (GEMO) managed the project. The architect was Valode & Pistre and the design consultants were Sechaud-Boyssut and Trouvin. The project cost 137,000,000 euros (less than 700 million francs ). The runways of
9702-595: The first European airline to do so. In 1986, the government relaxed its policy of dividing traffic rights for scheduled services between Air France, Air Inter and UTA, without route overlaps between them. The decision opened some of Air France's most lucrative routes on which it had enjoyed a government-sanctioned monopoly since 1963 and which were within its exclusive sphere of influence, to rival airlines, notably UTA. The changes enabled UTA to launch scheduled services to new destinations within Air France's sphere, in competition with that airline. Paris-San Francisco became
9828-460: The first executive modification of the aircraft. By the end of 1964, 13 aircraft had rolled off the production line. The One-Eleven was certified and the first handover, of G-ASJI to BUA, was on 22 January 1965. After several weeks of route-proving flights, the first revenue service flew on 9 April from Gatwick to Genoa . Braniff took delivery of its first aircraft on 11 March, while Mohawk received its first on 15 May. Deliveries continued, and by
9954-598: The first route UTA served in competition with Air France non-stop from Paris. Air France responded by extending some non-stop Paris-Los Angeles services to Papeete , Tahiti, which competed with UTA on Los Angeles-Papeete. UTA's ability to secure traffic rights outside its traditional sphere in competition with Air France was the result of a campaign to lobby the government to enable it to grow faster, becoming more dynamic and more profitable . This infuriated Air France. In 1987, Air France together with Lufthansa , Iberia and SAS founded Amadeus , an IT company (also known as
10080-458: The following two years, the airline's share of the total West Berlin — West Germany air travel market collapsed from 9% to less than 5%. Following the beginning of BEA 's jet operations from Tempelhof in late 1968, Air France's share dropped even further. Other factors that contributed to the company's progressive decline in traffic on its internal German services included Tegel's greater distance from West Berlin's city centre compared with Tempelhof,
10206-453: The former's corporate colours (red and blue on a white background). From the start of the 1989 summer timetable, a fifth 737-300 was leased from Monarch to increase week day frequencies on the existing four routes as well as to launch two additional routes serving Düsseldorf and Hamburg respectively from Euroberlin's Tegel base. From then on, Euroberlin also entered the short- to medium-haul charter market from West Berlin to help it maintain
10332-771: The government formalised division of routes between Air France and its private sector rivals. Air France was to withdraw services to West Africa (except Senegal ), Central Africa (except Burundi and Rwanda ), Southern Africa (including South Africa ), Libya in North Africa, Bahrain and Oman in the Middle East, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon ) in South Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as New Caledonia and Tahiti . These routes were allocated to
10458-410: The group employed 71,654 people. As of March 2007, the group employed 102,422 personnel. On 17 October 2007, the creation of a profit and revenue-sharing transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines was announced during a press conference at Air France-KLM's headquarters. The venture became effective on 29 March 2008. It aimed to exploit transatlantic opportunities to capture
10584-511: The hotel, office, and shopping complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport. After Air France moved to Tremblay-en-France, the ownership of the former head office complex was transferred. On a previous occasion the head office was at 2 rue marbeuf in the 8th arrondissement of Paris . Air France's United States offices are in the 125 West 55th Street building in Midtown Manhattan , New York City. Air France first signed
10710-400: The implementation of the project. Following its launch, Air France announced it would commence operations in 2013. In September 2013, Air France introduced a brand new Economy product along with an improved Premium Economy seat and service. It is expected that the new improvements would be fitted on aircraft from June 2014 onwards. In October 2013, Air France-KLM announced it was writing off
10836-413: The internal German market as long ago as 1969, reducing its presence at the city's Tegel Airport to providing a single daily non-stop scheduled service from/to Paris Orly only. (This move was designed to staunch the growing losses Air France's internal German routes from/to Tegel had incurred ever since Pan Am had introduced jet equipment on its own internal German services from/to Tempelhof in 1966. Over
10962-430: The lack of a motorway connecting the airport to the city centre and poor public transport links. Compared with its two bigger rivals in the Berlin market, it served fewer German domestic routes at lower frequencies and did not promote these as effectively. To keep a presence in the internal German air transport market from/to West Berlin, Air France had entered into a collaborative agreement with BEA. This agreement covered
11088-560: The larger, 140-seat VC-11 development of the Vickers VC10 which it had inherited. Other competing internal projects, such as the Bristol Type 200 , were quickly abandoned following absorption of Hunting into BAC. Market research showed the 59-seat BAC 107 was too small, and the design was reworked in 1961, with passenger capacity growing to 80 seats, and BS75s being discarded in favour of Rolls-Royce Speys . The revised design
11214-686: The largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenues , and third-largest (largest in Europe) in passenger kilometres. Although owned by a single company, Air France and KLM continued to fly under their own brand names . Air France–KLM remained part of SkyTeam alliance, which then included Aeroflot , Delta Air Lines , Aeroméxico , Korean Air , Czech Airlines , Alitalia , Northwest Airlines , China Southern Airlines , China Eastern Airlines , China Airlines , Air Europa , Continental Airlines , Garuda Indonesia , Vietnam Airlines , Saudia , Aerolineas Argentinas , and XiamenAir . As of March 2004,
11340-555: The long-standing Pan Am/ BA internal German duopoly in West Berlin. Four of these airlines then proceeded to apply to the US FAA as well as to West Berlin's Allied Air Attachés to be licensed to begin operating scheduled internal German services from West Berlin. This in turn provided the impetus for Air France and Lufthansa to secure a share of this expanding and potentially lucrative market for themselves. The only way for Air France and Lufthansa to compete successfully in this market
11466-450: The loss of all on board. The investigation led to the discovery of what became known as deep stall or superstall, a phenomenon caused by reduced airflow to the tailplane caused by the combined blanking effects of the wing and the aft-mounted engine nacelles at high angles of attack , which prevents recovery of normal (nose-down) flight. To prevent such stalls, BAC designed and added devices known as stick shakers and stick pushers to
11592-666: The new Orly Airport South terminal. By then the network covered 250,000 km. Air France entered the jet age in August 1953, flying the original, short-lived de Havilland Comet series 1A Paris-Rome-Beirut. In the mid 1950s, it also operated the Vickers Viscount turboprop, with twelve entering service between May 1953 and August 1954 on the European routes. On 26 September 1953 the government instructed Air France to share long-distance routes with new private airlines. This
11718-560: The new Union de Transports Aériens (UTA), a new private airline resulting from the merger of TAI and UAT. UTA also got exclusive rights between Japan, New Caledonia and New Zealand , South Africa and Réunion island in the Indian Ocean, as well as Los Angeles and Tahiti. In 1974, Air France began shifting the bulk of operations to the new Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris. By the early 1980s, only Corsica , Martinique, Guadeloupe , most services to French Guiana , Réunion,
11844-640: The new firm (44% owned by the French state, 37% by private shareholders), former KLM shareholders the rest. The decision of the Jean-Pierre Raffarin government to reduce the French state's shareholding in the former Air France group from 54.4% to 44% of the newly created Air France–KLM Group effectively privatised the new airline. In December 2004, the state sold 18.4% of its equity in Air France–KLM. The state's shareholding in Air France–KLM subsequently fell to just under 20%. Air France–KLM became
11970-504: The operations of French domestic carrier Air Inter and international rival UTA – Union de Transports Aériens . It served as France's primary national flag carrier for seven decades until its merger with KLM in 2003. In 2018, Air France and its regional subsidiary Hop carried 51.4 million passengers. Air France operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody jets on long-haul routes, and uses Airbus A320 family aircraft on short-haul routes. Air France introduced
12096-403: The operations of government-owned Air France, semi-public Air Inter and wholly private Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) were merged into an enlarged Air France. Air France's acquisition of UTA and Air Inter was part of an early 1990s government plan to create a unified, national air carrier with the economies of scale and global reach to counter potential threats from the liberalization of
12222-604: The opportunity to compensate for the One-Eleven's early penetration of the US domestic market. The British aircraft's initial one-year advantage now turned into a one-year delay, and the stretched series 500 failed to sell in the US. The type saw service with Cayman Airways and Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) in the Caribbean with Cayman Airways operating the series 500 on scheduled services to Houston, Texas (IAH) and Miami, Florida (MIA), and LIAT flying its series 500s into San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). Bahamasair also operated
12348-467: The performance of the One-Eleven more than adequate and sought to expand operations with the type, including further acquisitions, in the early 1970s in part to replace Vickers Viscounts . BA's 400-Series One-Elevens were all named after areas and locations in the English Midlands , reflecting the type's new base at Birmingham Airport . BA ordered more Series-500 aircraft in the late 1970s and
12474-401: The private jets of Romanian communist leaders Nicolae Ceaușescu and Ion Iliescu during 1986 to 1989. Due to the planes are "extreme rarity and significance for the technical history of Romania," they were added to the “treasure” category of Romania’s mobile cultural heritage in 2021, not allowed to leave the country. Under the BAC licence, 9 planes were made in Romania. Some of them served in
12600-403: The retirement of its last Boeing 747-400 with a special scenic flight on 14 January 2016. The airline operated the 747 in several variants since 1970. In January 2017, Air France received its first Boeing 787–9. In November, CityJet no longer operated on Air France flights and the affected destinations were served by Air France and HOP! from then on. In July 2017, Air France-KLM entered into
12726-414: The route in just under 20 hours. In September 1947, Air France's network stretched east from New York, Fort de France and Buenos Aires to Shanghai. By 1948, Air France operated 130 aircraft, one of the largest fleets in the world. Between 1947 and 1965, the airline operated Lockheed Constellations on passenger and cargo services worldwide. In 1946 and 1948, respectively, the French government authorised
12852-481: The start of the 1988-'89 winter timetable with a fleet of four Boeing 737-300 jet aircraft leased from Monarch Airlines . Monarch Airlines supplied all of Euroberlin's flightdeck crew, while Monarch's sister company Monarch Aircraft Engineering provided the maintenance support for the Euroberlin operation at Tegel, under a wet lease agreement. Air France staff at the French flag carrier 's Paris headquarters performed all of Euroberlin's administrative functions. As
12978-415: The stretched 500 model with service between Nassau (NAS) and Miami among other routes while Guatemalan carrier Aviateca operated its series 500 aircraft into both Miami and New Orleans, Louisiana (MSY). Costa Rican airline LACSA operated the series 500 as well on its services to Miami. Another air carrier which operated the series 500 into Miami was Belize Airways Ltd. Compared with earlier versions,
13104-512: The two airlines on temporary and permanent arrangements. Passenger demand grew on several key One-Eleven routes, exceeding the Series 500's larger capacity during the 1980s, which began to force airlines to use other planes. Before the formation of British Airways (BA), some predecessor companies, British European Airways and Cambrian Airways , were operating the One-Eleven. Their fleets were inherited by BA. British Airways Regional Division found
13230-566: The two dominant scheduled carriers in the internal German air transport market from and to West Berlin, had significantly reduced the number of flight frequencies, while replacing competitive with collaborative schedules on most of the routes served from Berlin . This had led to a widely perceived fall in service standards and choice of airlines/air services on individual routes, as well as widespread criticism from West Berlin's city government and its business community. Air France, West Berlin's third scheduled carrier, had withdrawn entirely from
13356-537: The uprated Spey failed to materialise. An altogether less ambitious 700 made a reappearance in 1978 as a 500 with specially "hush-kitted" Speys which would be replaced by the proposed RB432 in the mid-1980s. This was offered to British Airways in competition with Boeing 737-200s, but was ultimately rejected. In 1975, BAC launched the One-Eleven 800, a further stretched aircraft to be powered by two 22,000 lbf (98 kN) CFM International CFM56 high-bypass turbofans and seating 144 to 161 passengers, but this project
13482-563: The workforce numbered more than 34,000, its fleet about 100 jet aircraft (including 33 Boeing 747s ) and its 634,400 km network served 150 destinations in 73 countries. This made Air France the fourth-largest scheduled passenger airline in the world, as well as the second-largest scheduled freight carrier. Air France also codeshared with regional French airlines, TAT being the most prominent. TAT would later operate several regional international routes on behalf of Air France. In 1983, Air France began passenger flights to South Korea , being
13608-724: The world, and BAC expected orders for as many as 400. On 9 May 1961 the One-Eleven was publicly launched when British United Airways placed the first order for ten One-Eleven 200s. On 20 October Braniff International Airways in the United States ordered six. Mohawk Airlines sent representatives to Europe seeking out a new aircraft to bring them into the jet era, and on 24 July 1962 concluded an agreement for four One-Elevens. Orders followed from Kuwait Airways for three, and Central African Airways for two. Braniff subsequently doubled their order to 12, while Ireland's Aer Lingus ordered four. Western Airlines ordered ten but later cancelled. Bonanza Air Lines also ordered three in 1962 but
13734-459: Was abandoned in 1976 in favour of a new derivative of the One-Eleven with a wider fuselage capable of six-abreast seating. This new airliner was unveiled later that year as the X-Eleven, which would be powered by two CFM-56s or Pratt & Whitney JT10D engines and seat up 166 passengers. In 1977, BAC merged with Hawker Siddeley to form British Aerospace (BAe) and the new company was faced with
13860-484: Was by way of establishing a subsidiary with substantially lower operating costs than those of the incumbent airlines. In addition, both airlines needed to find a way that would legalise Lufthansa's provision of commercial air services from/to West Berlin to comply with post- World War II Allied rules that restricted such services to the airlines of the three Western victorious powers of World War II only. Both airlines therefore decided to establish Euroberlin France as
13986-634: Was delivered on 1 January 1993. There were three reasons why the Rombac initiative failed. Romania's economy and international position deteriorated to the point where supplies needed for One-Eleven manufacturing slowed to a trickle, with hard currency restrictions delaying the delivery of components sourced outside Romania; the market foreseen by the Romanians failed to show an interest, though some Rombac machines were leased to European operators. The One-Eleven's noise level and fuel economy failed to keep pace with US and West European competition. Adopting
14112-436: Was fitted on Boeing 777 aircraft from June 2014 onwards. In September 2014, Air France announced it would sell a 3 per cent stake in travel technology company Amadeus IT Group for $ 438 million. Late in 2015, Air France faced a financial crisis, which was exacerbated by a pilot's strike against the airline. The airline answered the strike by announcing it would cut some 2,900 jobs. In December 2015, Air France announced
14238-530: Was followed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's imposition of an accord on Air France, Aigle Azur , TAI and UAT , under which some routes to Africa, Asia and the Pacific region were transferred to private carriers. On 23 February 1960, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport transferred Air France's domestic monopoly to Air Inter. To compensate for the loss of its domestic network Air France
14364-512: Was given a stake in Air Inter. The following day Air France was instructed to share African routes with Air Afrique and UAT . The airline started uninterrupted jet operations in 1960 with the Sud Aviation Caravelle and the Boeing 707 ; jet airliners cut travel times in half and improved comfort. Air France later became an early Boeing 747 operator and eventually had one of the world's largest Boeing 747 fleets. On 1 February 1963,
14490-600: Was launched as an 80-seat airliner with a British United Airways (BUA) order on 9 May 1961. The prototype conducted its maiden flight on 20 August 1963, and it was first delivered to BUA on 22 January 1965. The 119-seat, stretched 500 series was introduced in 1967. Total production amounted to 244 until 1982 in the United Kingdom and between 1982 and 1989 in Romania where nine Rombac One-Elevens were licence-built by Romaero . The short haul , narrowbody aircraft
14616-513: Was linked to Paris Le Bourget Airport , Air France's first operations and engineering base, by coach. At that time the network covered 160,000 km, claimed to be the longest in the world. Société Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946. European schedules were initially operated by a fleet of Douglas DC-3 aircraft. On 1 July 1946, Air France started direct flights between Paris and New York via refuelling stops at Shannon and Gander . Douglas DC-4 piston -engine airliners covered
14742-419: Was offered to the Japanese domestic market, also failing to sell. Total deliveries for 1965 were 34 aircraft, while 200 aircraft had been built by the end of 1971. At this point orders slowed to a trickle, with production being suspended in 1975, although marketing and design continued, and it was always planned to restart production when sufficient orders had been received. BAC restarted production in 1977 as
14868-459: Was part of Lufthansa's contemporary corporate strategy to re-establish its presence in Berlin as quickly as possible after a politically enforced absence of 45 years. As a consequence of Lufthansa's new strategy for the Berlin market, Euroberlin's aircraft fleet and employee strength gradually diminished. Euroberlin was finally shut down in December 1994, resulting in the return of its remaining three 737-300s to Monarch Airlines. Euroberlin operated
14994-483: Was powered by aft-mounted Rolls-Royce Spey low-bypass turbofans, a configuration similar to the earlier Sud Aviation Caravelle and later Douglas DC-9 . It competed with early Boeing 737 variants and was used by multiple British, European and US airlines, including Romanian operators. It was replaced by the newer Airbus A320 and later 737 variants, as well as by the Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet. Noise restrictions accelerated its transition to African carriers in
15120-522: Was redesignated the BAC 111 (later known as the One-Eleven), with BAC abandoning the VC11 project to concentrate on the more promising One-Eleven. Unlike contemporary British airliners such as the Hawker Siddeley Trident , the One-Eleven was not designed specifically to meet the needs of the state-owned British European Airways or British Overseas Airways Corporation , but on the needs of airlines around
15246-563: Was stopped by the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which claimed that subsidies would be needed to operate a jet on Bonanza's routes, an action claimed by some at the time to be protectionism . The CAB also stopped Frontier Airlines and Ozark Air Lines from ordering One-Elevens, although allowing Ozark to order the similar Douglas DC-9 and Frontier to order Boeing 727-100s . The CAB had also unsuccessfully tried to block Mohawk's orders. In May 1963, BAC announced
15372-751: Was the Stage III noise abatement regulations , which came into effect from March 2003. Bringing the Rolls-Royce Spey engines into compliance with the noise regulations with hush kits was expensive, and many European operators chose to dispose of the type from their fleets. In 2010, the European Aviation Safety Agency accepted an Airbus request to revoke the Type Certificate for the BAC One-Eleven. As
15498-430: Was the first commercial airline company in France, having been founded as Lignes Aériennes Farman in 1919. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to French colonies in North Africa and farther afield. During World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca (Morocco). In 1936, Air France added French-built twin engine Potez 62 aircraft to its fleet featuring
15624-533: Was to be extended to the other two transatlantic SkyTeam partners, enabling all four partners to codeshare flights as well as to share revenue and profit. The new transatlantic joint venture marks the Air France-KLM Group's second major expansion in the London market, following the launch of CityJet -operated short-haul services from London City Airport that have been aimed at business travellers in
15750-409: Was to turn Air France-KLM back into a world player by 2015. Air France had been losing 700 million euros a year. As the financial results of 2011 demonstrated, the long-haul operations, also subject to increasing competition, would not be able to offset these losses. On 22 February 2012, Air France released its plan for the summer schedule. Because of the uncertain economic environment, Air France-KLM set
15876-584: Was used on less-busy European routes into the 1990s. The One-Eleven was important in budget airline Ryanair 's early years: it had sought an aircraft for low-fare scheduled services from regional airports, and obtained One-Elevens. The first of these, a Rombac-produced 500-Series, entered service on the Dublin–Luton route on 1 December 1986. Ryanair's fleet expanded to six aircraft by 1988, with three leased from Romania. These leased aircraft were later replaced with former BA One-Elevens. Ultimately Ryanair replaced
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