Aigle Azur is one of the oldest private carriers in France. Not so long ago, she came to the Russian market of passenger air transportation. What reputation does the company have among domestic travelers?
About airline
Aigle Azur is a French airline founded in 1946. It is considered to be the oldest private organization in France.
From 1946 to 1955, DC-3 aircraft were listed in the fleet. At this time, flights to settlements in Africa and the Pacific begin to operate.
In the 1970s, the airline was acquired by Lucas Air Transport. After that, her name was changed to Lucas Aviation. However, later it changed to Lucas Aigle Azur.
In 2001, the airline was acquired by the Groupe GOFAST organization, which was engaged in logistics and international freight transportation. In this regard, the name was changed to the original. However, from this moment, the company begins to carry out mainly short and medium-haul flights. The fleet of the enterprise has been completely updated. By 2007, the staff totaled about 450 people.
In 2011, the airline transported 1.8 million passengers in 20 different directions. Also, cooperation agreements were signed with such major carriers as Transaero, Sata, and Cosair.
In 2013, two new directions opened - from Nice and Paris Orly Airport to Moscow. However, later the carrier refused Nice-Moscow flights.
Air park
The Aigle Azur fleet includes the following types of medium-haul passenger Airbus aircraft:
- A319 with a cabin for 144 seats - 4 units.
- A320 with a cabin for 174 seats - 4 units.
- A321 with a cabin for 214 seats - 4 units.
The fleet is relatively young, as the average age of aircraft is no more than 10 years.
Directions
Aigle Azur specializes in scheduled and seasonal passenger transport to European and North African locations from four French airports:
- Lyon.
- Marseilles.
- Orly (Paris).
- Charles de Gaulle (Paris).
Transportation is carried out in the following countries:
- Algeria - Algeria, Annaba, Bejaya, Biskra, Constantine, Oran, Setif, Tlemcen.
- Mali - Bamako.
- Morocco - Agadir.
- Portugal - Lisbon, Porto, Funchal, Faro.
- Russia Moscow.
- Senegal - Dakar.
- France - Lille, Mulhouse, Toulouse.
- Switzerland - Basel.
Flights to Moscow Vnukovo Airport are operated from Paris Orly.
Aigle Azur: Russian traveler reviews
Some travelers from Russia have already managed to take advantage of its services in our market for 3 years of operation of the airline. In the work of the airline, they highlight both positive and negative points.
Of the positive, you can name:
- low cost of flights;
- professionalism of pilots;
- politeness and delicacy of cabin crew;
- the novelty of the fleet;
- high-quality, acceptable food;
- a small number of delays and cancellations of flights;
- the presence of children's travel kits;
- the ability to choose seats when buying tickets.
Most of the passengers from the negative moments highlight the inconvenience of seats. Travelers also note that the quality of charter transportation sometimes leaves much to be desired: children are not offered travel kits, and in the salons it is rather dirty and untidy. However, these shortcomings do not apply to regular flights.
Aigle Azur is one of the oldest private airlines in France, which was created in the post-war years. Over the 70 years of the airline's existence, its name has changed three times. Now the carrier is organizing regular and seasonal passenger flights from France to the settlements of Europe and North Africa. In general, passengers are satisfied with the quality of the airline. However, most people report flaws in organizing seasonal flights.