Minerve (airline)
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Minerve was a French airline, headquartered in the 1st arrondissement of
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, that operated from 1975 until it merged with AOM to form
AOM French Airlines AOM French Airlines (previously Air Outre-Mer) was the second-largest airline in France from 1990 until 2001. Its head office was in Building 363 at Orly Airport, Paray-Vieille-Poste. History Air Outre Mer (AOM) was founded in 1988 in the Fren ...
in 1992.


History

Minerve began operations in 1975 using
Sud Aviation Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed f ...
aircraft on charter flights from Paris-Le Bourget airport. Permission was granted for charter flights to the United States in 1983 and those were operated first with Douglas DC-8 jets and later on with a Boeing 747-200 wide body jetliner. For charter flights to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
the Caravelles were used until replaced in 1987 by
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...
. Minerve wanted to expand into North America and created a subsidiary in Canada called Minerve Canada, but that venture did not last long and it had a negative effect on the parent company. Other investments in Jet Alsace and Jet Fret created more financial burdens which led to the sale of 50% of the stock to the tour operator Club Méditerranée. To expand operations, three
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
wide body jetliners were acquired for long-range services. In 1991 Minerve was operating scheduled passenger services between Paris and Bangkok, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Nice, San Francisco and Tahiti with DC-10-30 jets being primarily operated on the international routes. The same year, the airline published a joint timetable with French air carrier Air Liberte. In 1992 Minerve merged with Air Outre Mer to form
AOM French Airlines AOM French Airlines (previously Air Outre-Mer) was the second-largest airline in France from 1990 until 2001. Its head office was in Building 363 at Orly Airport, Paray-Vieille-Poste. History Air Outre Mer (AOM) was founded in 1988 in the Fren ...
.Hengi, page 127


Fleet details

*5 – Sud SE-210 Caravelle *3 –
Douglas DC-8-53 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
*3 –
Douglas DC-8-61 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...
*1 –
Douglas DC-8-62 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
*2 – Douglas DC-8-73 *1 – Boeing 747-200 *3 –
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
*4 –
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...


References

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External links


Fleet and code information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minerve (Airline) Defunct airlines of France Airlines established in 1975 Airlines disestablished in 1992