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Title: Air Union |
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Description: In 1927 Air Union introduced the ‘Golden Ray’ service which operated with a 21 twin engine aircraft, and included trained stewards recruited from luxurious French hotels. In addition to the ‘Golden Ray’ service, Air Union offered other flight services such as Thalassa, Riveria Express, and Rapid Azur. The Rapid Azur service flew from London to Marseilles, stopping in Paris with connections in Lyon and Geneva. The aircraft of the Rapid Azur service was a Breuget 280 T, an eight passenger biplane derived from the Breuget XIX military type. Rapid meaning quick and Azur a type of blue, donning the phrase ‘quick to the blue (sky)’. In 1933 Air Union became the internationally renowned Air France offering flights to and from Paris and all around the world. 1919 marked the beginning of commercial passenger flights in France. In 1919 many small airline companies were formed, and began to lay the foundation for what would become a large national industry. C.M.A. (Companie des Messageries Aeriennes) a five passenger aircraft, began service May 1, 1919 operating between Paris and Lille on the Paris to London route. At the same time the thirteen passenger Farman Goliath of C.G.E.A. (Compagnie Des Grands Express Aerien),formed in 1919, began its first service March 5, 1920 on the Paris-London route. C.G.T. (Compagnie Generale Transaeriennes) formed in 1909 began service August 1919 and was later absorbed in 1922 by (C.G.E.A). In 1922 C.M.A. linked the south of France with a service to Marseilles. The routes of C.M.A. and C.G.E.A. ran somewhat parallel to one another and in January 1923 all three airlines merged to form Air Union. This new airline concentrated on the most heavily trafficked route from Paris to London, with connections in Marseilles, Lyons, and Geneva. |
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