Those of us not so young may remember flying with the airline “Air Toulouse”. Visible on the tail of the plane was a large Occitan cross on a red background. Today, it can no longer be seen flying in the sky, but Toulouse Secret has decided to tell you the story of the most Toulousian of airlines.
The genesis of a Toulouse-based airline
Air Toulouse unfortunately failed to compete with Air France. Founded in the late 1960s in the ” ville rose”, the Toulouse-based charter airline was forced to close its doors in 2003. But let’s start at the beginning.
In 1969, Air Toulouse was born. With its two Beechcraft and one Cessna, the company was a simple air cab (a more or less acceptable alternative to private jets). At the end of the 80s, the company grew wings and became “Air Toulouse International”, whose slogan was “Pour voir la vie en rose”, a nice nod to its birthplace.
Air Toulouse doesn’t mean Airbus
The fleet included seven Caravelles, six Boeings and a small Embraer EMB 110, built by the Brazilian company of the same name. Today, it is still possible to take a virtual tour of one of the Caravelle 10Bs – built by Sud-Aviation of Toulouse – and stored at Blagnac.
Thanks to all these aircraft, the Toulouse-based airline was able to operate both domestic and international flights. From Toulouse, you could fly to Marseille, Ajaccio and Lourdes, as well as Dakar in Senegal, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona and Tenerife in Spain.
Forced landing for Air Toulouse
Between 1997 and 1999, Air Toulouse International carried over 500,000 passengers a year. But this figure was clearly not enough to save Air Toulouse. In 1999, the airline was bought out and renamed Aeris. Despite the company’s apparently healthy financial situation (due to the acquisition of other companies), the Toulouse Commercial Court declared the former Air Toulouse bankrupt due to insufficient assets. A sad end for a company that employed 310 people…