#aerospatiale

airsLLide No. 1244: SE-DEE, Nord Aviation SN-601 Corvette, Sterling Airways, Billund, July 5, 1987

The Danish charter airline Sterling Airways was famous for maintaining flights to an intercontinental portfolio of destinations, serving transatlantic routes and Asian as well as Middle Eastern routes with its fleet of narrow body short to medium range Sud Aviation Caravelle and Boeing 727 aircraft.

airsLLide No. 636: F-GCJT, Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3, EAS Europe Aero Service, Paris-Orly, July 12, 1986

In the mid-80s, EAS offered seasonal charter flights out of various airports in France, using a pair of Boeing 727s and up to five Caravelle 10B - with occasional subleases, that number tended to oscillate. The carrier's maintenance base and headquarters was located in Perpignan, the bulk of operations was however concentrated on Paris-Orly airport.

Apart from the charter flights, EAS regularly also provided substitute capacity to Air Inter's domestic scheduled flights, mainly in the off-season when demand for tourist flights was lower.

airsLLide No. 44066: F-ZACE, Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III, Centre d'Essais en Vol, Montelimar, April 8, 2023

airsLLide No. 4407: TC-AKA, SE-210 Caravelle 10R, Istanbul Airlines, Zürich, March 24, 1990

Five Caravelles, acquired from various European leisure airlines, formed the original fleet of the Turkish newcomer Istanbul Airlines in 1986. After flying initially in an all white livery with just red titles and logo, they received the carrier's reworked brand with blue and red underside towards the end of the decade.

airsLLide No. 4715: F-BTSC, Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde 101, Air France, Basel/Mulhouse, May 27, 1990

Although not a regular by any means, the Concorde made several appearances at my home airport of youth. While British Airways dispatched its most exclusive airplane for anniversary events, Air France did occasionally schedule exclusive charters to events such as Formula 1 races - in the case above, F-BTSC arrives to pick-up a group of visitors travelling VIP style to the Monaco F1 race later that day (won by Ayerton Senna, btw.).

F-BTSC is a Concorde with a history, both of fame and shame: Firstly, she was the specific Concorde featuring in the thriller «Airport 1979», wearing a fantasy scheme with Concorde titles on the lower forward fuselage and a red angular logo in the tail. Operated by the fictional «Federal World Airways» she gets attacked by the goons of a major businesman engaged in not-so-legal activities as a reporter carrying proof of his maldoings is aboard, on her way to publish them.

Several attempts to bring the Concorde down fail on the first leg from the US to Paris. After a night stop during which some bribed mechanic sabotages the cargo doors, she takes-off for the onward journey to Moscow. When the cabin decompresses due to the triggered cargo door, the crew makes an almost successful emergency landing on a downhill ski run in the alps (chances in real live: 0), so that all crew and passengers can escape - including the documents - before the Concorde explodes due to a foot of snow or two «crushing» her (funny enough after all the previous moves and manoeuvres in-flight that put way more stress on the airframe...).

airsLLide No. 1044: F-GCVM, SE-210 Caravelle 12, Air Inter, Basel/Mulhouse, May 14, 1987

Ramp scenes: With the morning flight of Air Inter to Paris-Charles de Gaulle in the background running about an hour or so late, Caravelle 12 F-GCVK assigned to that service still sits in her parking position when sister F-GCVM arrives on the mid-morning run from Paris-Orly. While the first-mentioned service is mostly used by connecting passengers to Air France's intercontinental network, the Orly run that Air Inter used to offer six to seven times a day were almost entirely used by local business people and tourists on city trips travelling to the French capital.

airsLLide No. 1515: F-GCVJ, Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 12, Air Inter, Basel/Mulhouse, October 9, 1987

Before the TGV high speed train network reached the East of France, Air Inter offered up to six daily flights between its domestic hub in Paris-Orly and the French sector of the bi-national EuroAirport, as well as three to four daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Basel/Mulhouse that served as feeder flights to the international flights out of CDG.

Air Inter mainly used the Caravelle and Mercure 100 on both routes, both later replaced by the Airbus A320. Only the night-stop flight arriving late from Orly and leaving early in the morning regularly saw service by the high-capacity Airbus A300, later A330-300 widebodies.