Régional was a subsidiary

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 ...

wholly owned by

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

which connected hubs at

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 ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

to 49 airports in Europe. The airline operated in Air France livery, retaining its name in small titles and logo on the front fuselage and engines. It became the first European operator of the

Embraer E190 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...

aircraft in November 2006. Airliner World January 2007 It was headquartered in

Bouguenais Bouguenais (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France near Nantes. Bouguenais is home to the Nantes Atlantique Airport. Population Economy Régional, a regional airline, w ...

at the

Nantes Atlantique Airport Nantes Atlantique Airport (french: Aéroport Nantes Atlantique, formerly known as ''Aéroport Château Bougon'') is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais. The airport is operated b ...

.Contact
" Régional. Retrieved on 30 April 2010. The airline, along with

Brit Air Brit Air (short for Brittany Air International) was a regional airline based at Morlaix Airport in Ploujean, Morlaix, Brittany, France, operating scheduled services as an Air France franchise from Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport, Paris-Orly Ai ...

and

Airlinair Société Airlinair, simply known as Airlinair, was a French regional airline based in Rungis, France, operating scheduled regional flights (some of which were on behalf of Air France), and aircraft lease services. The airline has set up bases ...

, was fully merged in

HOP! Air France Hop, formerly branded HOP!, is a French regional airline operating flights on behalf of its parent company Air France. The airline was founded on 21 December 2012http://www.verif.com/societe/HOP!-790151716/ after the merger of Airlin ...

since 2017 after a year of negotiation process.

History

On 30 March 2001,

Flandre Air Flandre Air (IATA: IX, ICAO: FRS) was a French regional airline headquartered at Lille Airport and in Lesquin, France, near Lille.Proteus Airlines Proteus Airlines was a French regional airline with its head offices in Saint-Apollinaire, Côte-d'Or, France, near Dijon, and in Saint-Étienne. Founded in 1986, it remained operational until 2001. History The airline was originally established ...

, and

Regional Airlines A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

merged into Régional. Régional as of 2006 was upgrading and consolidating its fleet, considering to ally with a

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

partner as it increasingly turned its focus to its jet operations. The two remaining

Saab 2000 The Saab 2000 is a twin-engined high-speed turboprop airliner built by Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab. It is designed to carry 50–58 passengers and cruise at a speed of . Production took place in Linköping in southern Sweden. The Saab ...

s were phased out in 2006 and the last of its nine Embraer EMB-120s followed in 2008, marking the exit of all of Régional's turboprop aircraft. From 31 March 2013, Régional services were operated under the

brand. Régional ceased all flight operations in March 2017 after its merger in

Destinations

Fleet

Saab 2000, Regional Compagnie Aerienne JP5929391

The Régional fleet includes the following aircraft in March 2013, the average fleet age is 12.3 years. It became the first European operator of the

on 23 November 2006, when the first of six on order was delivered. The 100-seat aircraft would operate domestic and intra-European services in full

colours. Régional received its first Embraer E170 of 6 orders, which wears the new Régional logo, on September 2, 2008. The Embraer E190s are part of a new order over the Air France-KLM group with another 18 further options. All Fokkers have been transferred to KLM Cityhopper. The last propeller aircraft Embraer EMB-120 left the fleet on October 10, 2008, replaced by the

ERJ-135 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenge ...

Head office

The head office of the airline was located on the grounds of

, near Nantes. The head office was adjacent to the airport hotels. Nantes Atlantique Airport had the head office of

, the largest of the three companies that were merged into the new Régional.Air France fusionne trois de ses compagnies régionales
" '' Les Echos'' #18280. 16 November 2000. Page 30. Retrieved on 2 May 2010. "Nantes, où est basé Regional Airlines, la plus importante des trois compagnies, sera le siège de la nouvelle entité.""World Airline Directory." ''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...

''. 3–9 April 2001
66

Incidents and accidents

*On 25 January 2007,

Air France Flight 7775 The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

from Pau to

, operated by Régional, crashed shortly after take-off. All 54 passengers and crew escaped from the

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, ...

although one person was killed on the ground. An investigation by the BEA revealed that the cause of the accident was ice on the wings of the aircraft involved.

History

Destinations

Fleet

Head office

Incidents and accidents

References

External links