Air France une flotte en héritage

The Air France Museum is pleased to publish the results of the methodical and advanced research of our colleague Bruno Veille. The author is already known for several books and articles on the history of the Air France group, on the one hand, and aeronautics in the Bordeaux region, on the other, documents that have captured the attention of enthusiasts of the history of French air transport.
It should be remembered that Air France was actually created on August 30, 1933, from the merger of the four airlines Air Union, Air Orient, CIDNA, and SGTA, before the integration of Aéropostale into the new entity on October 30. While the networks inherited from these companies appear relatively well organized and quite complementary, the fleet situation is proving complex to manage, given the disparity of the recovered equipment and the technically obsolete nature of some aircraft.

The official list lists 259 aircraft of 23 different models. By way of comparison, the Air France fleet in December 2021 comprised 213 aircraft of 6 types in operation. Based on this inventory, for the first time, the history of all these aircraft and seaplanes before, during, and after their career at Air France has been uncovered. The trace of 73 aircraft forgotten in the registration records completes this list, which can record, in the name of the constituent companies, valuable historical contributions for the Air France Museum, particularly the period before the merger. This shows how important the results of Bruno Veille's work are for the Air France Museum, as they contribute concretely to enriching our primary mission of promoting the company's historical heritage.