Air Charter International

Air Charter International was a French charter airline that operated from 1966 to 1998.

Air Charter International

IATA ICAO Call sign SF ACF AIR CHARTER
Founded	7 February 1966
Ceased operations	24 October 1998
Hubs	Paris-Orly Airport
Fleet size	6
Parent company	Air France (80%) Air Inter (20%)
Headquarters	Paris, France

History

Air Charter International Caravelle III in 1971

Air Charter International Boeing 727-200 in 1981

Early operations

Air Charter International Boeing 737-200

Air Charter was established on 7 February 1966 as a subsidiary of Air France under the name Societé aérienne française d'affrètements (SAFA). Flight operations began on 25 July 1966 with two Sud Caravelles and two Lockheed Super Constellations. These flew charter flights from Paris to the Mediterranean.

Later years

The airline changed its name on 8 December 1969 to Air Charter International (ACI). In 1971, ACI operated a fleet of seven Caravelles and carried about 420.000 passengers. The first two Boeing 727-200 were introduced in 1972. Transatlantic charter flights to the USA and Canada were offered from 1982 onwards with leased Boeing 747-200 aircraft operated by Air France.^[1] Six Super Caravelles were leased from EAS Europe Airlines until 1992.

In 1984, the airline's name was shortened to Air Charter. As the business grew, the first wide-body aircraft was introduced in 1988, the Airbus A300B4. Two Boeing 737-200 from EAS Europe Aéro Service on 1988. By the mid-1990s, the 727s were replaced by the Airbus A320. With the merger of Air France and Air Inter in 1998, Air Charter had served its purpose and services were discontinued on 24 October 1998.

Fleet

A Boeing 737-500 in an Air Charter/EAS Europe Airlines hybrid livery at Dublin Airport in 1993

Air Charter operated the following aircraft:^[2]

Air Charter International fleet

Aircraft	Total	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Airbus A300B4	2	1988	1998	1 leased from Air France
Airbus A310-300	2	1997	1998
Airbus A320-200	7	1994	1998	2 leased from Air France 1 leased TransAer International Airlines
Boeing 727-200	11	1972	1995	4 leased from Air France
Boeing 737-200	5	1987	1995	1 leased from Euralair 2 leased from Inter Ciel Service 2 leased from EAS Europe Airlines
	2	1996	1998
Boeing 737-300	1	1991	1991	Leased from AWAS
Boeing 737-400	1	1991	1992
Boeing 737-500	1	1991	1992
	1	1996	1997
Boeing 747-200	1	1982	Un­known	Operated by Air France
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation	2	1966	Un­known	Operated by Air France
Dassault Mercure	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Operated by Air Inter
Sud Aviation Caravelle 3	11	1970	1989
Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B	4	1981	1991

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 June 1988, an Airbus A320-100 operated for Air France as Air France Flight 296Q crashed into a forest while performing a low pass over the Habsheim Air Show.