''Compagnie des messageries aériennes'' was a pioneering French

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

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 February 1919 by

Louis Charles Breguet Louis Charles Breguet (; 2 January 1880 in Paris – 4 May 1955 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was a French aircraft designer and builder, one of the early List of aviation pioneers, aviation pioneers. Biography Louis Charles Breguet was the g ...

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of t ...

, Louis Renault and René Caudron. The first commercial route, a mail and freight service between Le Bourget Airport,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and Lille-Lesquin Airport,

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, was started 18 April 1919 using ex-military Breguet 14s. In August, a service was started to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. On 19 September, an international passenger service between Paris - Le Bourget Airport and London (

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main ...

) was started, also using Breguet 14s.Sherwood (1999) The company was merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union on 1 January 1923.

Accidents and incidents

* On 23 June 1921, a Blériot-SPAD S.27, F-CMAY of CMA was en route from

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

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 ...

. It encountered technical problems and attempted a forced landing, possibly aiming for

Bekesbourne Aerodrome Bekesbourne Aerodrome was an airport located at the southeast edge of the village of Bekesbourne, southeast of Canterbury, Kent. It operated from 1916 until 1940, and had both military and civil roles. History World War I The airfield st ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, but crashed onto an adjacent railway line, first hitting telegraph cables which would have softened the impact. The two passengers were unharmed, while the pilot received minor injuries having been pinned underneath the aircraft. The aircraft was written off. *On 3 June 1922, CMA's Blériot-SPAD S.33 F-ACMH en route from Croydon to Le Bourget crashed into the English Channel off

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, killing both passengers and the pilot. *On 15 March 1923, Farman F.60 Goliath F-AEIE overran the runway on landing at

and collided with a building. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service. *On 3 December 1923, Goliath F-AEIF, which may have been operated by CMA, crashed at Littlestone, Kent.

Fleet

* Breguet 14 (2 passengers) * Farman F.60 Goliath (12 passengers, 15 aircraft) * Blériot-SPAD S.27 (2 passengers, 10 aircraft) * Blériot-SPAD S.33 (5 passengers, 15 aircraft)

Notes

References

*Bluffield, Robert. 2009. Imperial Airways - The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914–1940. Ian Allan *Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911–1946
Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library)

External links

Le développement du transport aérien en Europe (1919-1932)
Airlines established in 1919 Defunct airlines of France Airlines disestablished in 1923 French companies established in 1919 1923 disestablishments in France {{Europe-airline-stub