Compagnie Air Liberté S.A., later renamed Air Lib, was a French airline founded in July 1987.It was headquartered in Rungis.[1] Instead Air Lib was headquartered in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste.[2][3]
History
Air Liberté began charter operations in April 1988 with a leased McDonnell Douglas MD-80. It mainly operated to holiday destinations in Europe and Mediterranean basins, but it had also some intercontinental routes. In 1991, Air Liberté published a joint timetable with French air carrier Minerve which was operating flights to San Francisco and Papeete, Tahiti as well as to Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France in the Caribbeans.[4] A route to Montreal was inaugurated in 1992,
Unsuccessful routes included one from Toulouse to Dakar and London, which were scrapped in a conflict over slot allocations at Orly Airport.
1996 saw the inauguration of a route to Nice, and in May the Euralair network was taken on.
In mid-1990s, the airline had a fleet of five Boeing 737-200s, eight McDonnell Douglas MD-83s and five McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.
1996 also brought wfinancial distress. The airline lost 1 billion francs that year, and in early 1997 British Airways acquired a 67% shareholding.[6] British Airways unified Air Liberté together with TAT (a subsidiary from August 1996) under one management between the end of 1997 and the first months of the following year.On 5 May 2000, the British airline sold Air Liberté to a partnership between Taitbout Antibes and Swiss flag carrier Swissair.
On 25 March 2001 AOM French Airlines merged with Air Liberté, and this name was kept[7] until 22 September, when the airline was renamed Air Lib.[8] In October, Swissair went bankrupt, unable to make all scheduled payments. The French Government then granted a loan of €30.5 million to the battered company.
Despite government aid, the airline accumulated debts of €120 million and was forced to declare bankruptcy in August 2002. The government then ordered the implementation of a new restructuring plan before the end of the year. Several projects were considered but all without result. The air carrier halted all operations on 6 February 2003 was liquidated on 17 February.[9]
Destinations
France
Agen – Agen La Garenne Airport
Annecy – Annecy – Haute-Savoie – Mont Blanc Airport
Air Liberté operated the following aircraft types:
Accidents & Incidents
25 May 2000: Air Liberté Flight 8807, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (F-GHED) collided on the runway with a Short 330 freighter aircraft operated by Streamline Aviation. The Short had been cleared to line up at an intermediate taxiway on the runway that the MD-83 was departing from. The wing of the MD-83 struck the cockpit of the Short, killing its first officer and injuring the captain. The MD-83 aborted takeoff with no casualties on board, and was repaired and returned to service.[10]
3."Résultat de votre recherche." Le Journal officiel électronique authentifié. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Siège social : compagnie Air Lib, bâtiment 363, zone centrale à l’aéroport d’Orly, 91550 Paray-Vieille-Poste."^
4.http://www.timetableimages.com, June 1, 1991 Air Liberte/Minerve combined timetable^
5.OAG Desktop Flight Guide: Worldwide Edition Official Airline Guides, August 1992^
6.British Airways acquires Air Liberte Australian Aviation issue 124 December 1996 page 24^
7."Home." AOM French Airlines. 6 May 2001. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Le 25 Mars 2001 AOM change de nom et devient Air Liberté."^
8."Découvrir Air Liberté." Air Liberté. 23 February 2002. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Le 22 Septembre 2001, AOM et AIR LIBERTE ont donné naissance à une nouvelle compagnie aérienne qui porte désormais le nom AIR LIB."^
