The Compagnie des ''Grands Express Aériens'' was a pioneering French

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

established 20 March 1919 and operating until merged with

Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes ''Compagnie des messageries aériennes'' was a pioneering French airline which was in operation from 1919–23, when it was merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union. History Compagnie des messageries aériennes was established Februa ...

to form

Air Union Air Union was a French airline established January 1, 1923, as the result of a merger between the airlines ''Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes'' and '' Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens''. Air Union was merged with four other French airli ...

on 1 January 1923. Headquartered at 3, Rue d'Anjou,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, ''CGEA'' operated passenger flights from

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Croydon Aerodrome Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main ai ...

and also to

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, eventually adding

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

service in late October 1921. They flew

Farman F.60 The Farman F.60 Goliath was a French airliner and bomber produced by the Farman Aviation Works from 1919. It was instrumental in the creation of early airlines and commercial routes in Europe after World War I. Design and development The ''G ...

''Goliath'' aircraft, a design converted from an earlier bomber into a luxury cabin aircraft. They also purchased a ten-passenger

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...

Commercial, also a converted bomber design.

Accidents and incidents

*On 8 October 1921, A Farman F.60 Goliath made an emergency landing at Saint-Inglevert, Pas-de-Calais due to problems with a propeller shortly after the aircraft had crossed the French coast. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget Airport,

to Croydon Airport, Surrey,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Another aircraft was despatched from Paris to take the six passengers on to Croydon. *On 30 November 1921, Farman F.60 Goliath F-GEAD was damaged in a forced landing at

Smeeth Smeeth is a mostly agricultural land use village and civil parish, centred east of Ashford in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England. Geography Smeeth is a small village in population near Mersham Hatch Park on the A20 road from Ashford to Folke ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service. *On 11 February 1922, Goliath F-GEAI was written off in a forced landing at

Farnborough, Kent Farnborough is a village in south-eastern Greater London, England, located in the historic county of Kent. Situated south of Locksbottom, west of Green Street Green, north of Downe and Hazelwood, and east of Keston, it is centred southeas ...

. *On 7 April 1922, Goliath F-GEAD, flying from

to London

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

was lost in the first-ever midair collision of airliners. In early afternoon, under drizzle and fog conditions, the F.60 collided head-on with a

Daimler Airway Daimler Airway was an airline subsidiary of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA)'s Daimler Company. It was created to use some of the assets of the failed ventures Airco and its subsidiary, Aircraft Transport and Travel, which was acquired ...

de Havilland DH.18A The de Havilland DH.18 was a single-engined British biplane transport aircraft of the 1920s built by de Havilland. Design and development The DH.18 was designed and built in 1919 by Airco as their first aircraft specifically for commercial w ...

making the reverse run 150 metres above the same railway line. All seven people aboard the two aircraft were killed, including three passengers on the Goliath.

Innovation

CGEA's chief pilot René Labouchère together with Raoul Badin defined the first IFR control panel in 1922, which they called the "Contrôleur de vol Badin" (en: Badin flight controller). The following year it was made mandatory equipment on all transport flights.

Accidents and incidents

Innovation

References

Further reading