AOM French Airlines
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Airline |
| Predecessor | Air Outre-Mer, Air Minerve |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Merged with Air Liberté; rebranded as Air Lib |
| Headquarters | Paray-Vieille-Poste , France |
Area served | France, French overseas territories, international destinations including Sydney, Nassau, Havana, Tokyo, Zürich, Los Angeles |
| Products | Passenger air transport |
| Parent | Swissair (49% stake from 1999) |
AOM French Airlines, originally known as Air Outre-Mer, ranked as France's second-largest carrier from 1988 until 2001. Its corporate offices were situated in Building 363 at Orly Airport, located in Paray-Vieille-Poste.
Establishment
Air Outre Mer was established in 1988 within the French overseas département of Réunion and commenced scheduled passenger flights in 1990, operating a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 alongside a Dornier 228. In October 1991, it joined forces with Air Minerve, an airline based at Orly Airport that had been active since 1975. The combined company adopted the name AOM French Airlines (legally "AOM-Minerve S.A."). Notably, Air Minerve was the pioneer in challenging Air Inter on domestic French routes by inaugurating the Paris (Orly) to Nice service in May 1990. In February 1999, Swissair took a 49% ownership stake as part of its "hunter strategy." Throughout the 1990s, AOM engaged in intense competition against Air France on both domestic flights and routes to French overseas territories.
Consolidation
Facing substantial debt caused by ineffective fleet utilization and excessive capacity, AOM halted operations in 2001, a situation worsened by the economic slowdown following the dot-com bubble burst. After prolonged strikes, bankruptcy was authorized. On 25 March 2001, AOM merged with Air Liberté, with the "Air Liberté" brand being preserved. Subsequently, on 22 September 2001, the airline was rebranded as "Air Lib." The downfall of AOM foreshadowed similar collapses among other French carriers in the following years.
Destinations
AOM French Airlines served the following locations:
Within France
- Marseille – Marseille Provence Airport
- Nice – Nice Côte d'Azur Airport
- Paris – Orly Airport
- Perpignan – Llabanère Airport
- Toulon – Toulon-Hyères Airport
French overseas departments and territories
International destinations
- Sydney – Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (operated Paris-Colombo-Sydney-Nouméa route starting November 1995 until discontinuation in 2001)
- Colombo – Bandaranaike International Airport (part of Paris-Colombo-Sydney-Nouméa service from November 1995 until cessation in 2001)
- Bangkok – Don Mueang International Airport (served on Paris-Bangkok-Nouméa route until November 1995)
Fleet
Throughout its operational period, AOM French Airlines utilized the following types of aircraft:
| Type of Aircraft | Quantity | Year Introduced | Year Retired | Additional Information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4 | 1 | 1999 | 2000 | Aircraft leased from TransAer International Airlines. | ||||||
| Airbus A340-200 | 3 | 1999 | 2001 | |||||||
| Airbus A340-300 | 2 | 2000 | 2001 | |||||||
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 1996 | 1996 | Leased from Air Toulouse. | ||||||
| Boeing 737-500 | 3 | 1998 | 2000 | Operated under lease from LOT Polish Airlines. | ||||||
| Boeing 747-200B | 1 | 1992 | 1993 | |||||||
| Douglas DC-8-62CF | 1 | 1992 | 1992 | |||||||
| Douglas DC-8-73 | 1 | 1992 | 1992 | Leased out to Air Sweden. | ||||||
| Fokker 100 | 1 | 1996 | 1996 | Leased from Transwede Airways. | ||||||
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 15 | 1990 | 2001 | 1 | 1994 | 1994 | Leased from Meridiana. |
- McDonnell Douglas MD-83 14 1992 2001 1 1995 1996 Leased from Transwede Airways. |