Brit Air
Encyclopedia
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- For the United Kingdom-based airline, see British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
- For the former US-based Regional Airline see: Britt AirwaysBritt AirwaysBritt Airways was a United States commuter airline based in Terre Haute, Indiana.In 1985, the founder and owner of Britt Airways, Bill Britt, sold the airline to People Express. Frank Lorenzo's holding company, Texas Air Corporation, acquired People Express, following Texas Air's acquisition of...
Brit Air (short for Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
Air International) is a regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
based on the grounds of Morlaix Airport at Ploujean
Ploujean
Ploujean is a former commune of Finistère which is now part of Morlaix since February 22, 1959.The church was built in the 15th century. It has been listed as a Monument historique since 1914 by the French Ministry of Culture, and its organ, built by Thomas Dallam II in the 17th century, has been...
, Morlaix
Morlaix
Morlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Leisure and tourism:...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, operating scheduled services as an Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
franchise out of Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, Paris-Orly Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
History
The airline was established in 1973 and started operations in 1975. It was founded to provide services for business executives from western France, and introduced regular flights to London GatwickLondon Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
in 1979. On 1 December 1995, Brit Air signed a franchising agreement with Air France Europe
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Air France in October 2000. It employs 1,260 staff.
Fleet
As of November 2011, the Brit Air fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 3.6 years:| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier CRJ100ER | 13 | 0 | 50 | being gradually retired |
| Bombardier CRJ700 Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are regional airliners based on the Bombardier CRJ200. Final assembly of the aircraft is at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, Quebec, outside Montreal, Canada.-Development:... |
15 | 0 | 70 | |
| Bombardier CRJ1000 | 11 | 4 | 100 | |
| Total | 39 | 4 |
Fleet development
Over the years, the airline operated various aircraft types including:| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| ATR 42 ATR 42 -Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type.... |
1986 | 2005 |
| ATR 72 ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology... |
1991 | 2003 |
| Bombardier CRJ100 | 1995 | |
| Bombardier CRJ700 Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are regional airliners based on the Bombardier CRJ200. Final assembly of the aircraft is at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, Quebec, outside Montreal, Canada.-Development:... |
2001 | |
| Bombardier CRJ900 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Bombardier CRJ1000 | 2010 | |
| Fairchild Hiller FH-227 Fairchild Hiller FH-227 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States... |
||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | ||
| Fokker F28 Fellowship | ||
| Fokker 100 | 1999 | 2011 |
| Saab 340 Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio... |
1987 | 1998 |
Incidents and accidents
On 22 June 2003, Air France Flight 5672 (:fr:Vol 5672 Air France) from NantesNantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
to Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, which was operated by a Brit Air CRJ100, crashed 2.3 miles short of the runway when attempting to land at Brest Bretagne Airport
Brest Bretagne Airport
Brest Bretagne Airport , formerly known as Brest Guipavas Airport, is an airport serving the French city of Brest. It is located in the commune of Guipavas and 10.2km northeast of Brest, within the département of Finistère....
at 23:55 local time, resulting in the death of the captain
Pilot in command
The pilot in command of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the "captain" in a typical two- or three-pilot flight crew, or "pilot" if there is only one certified and qualified pilot at the controls of...
. The aircraft involved (registered
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
F-GRJS) subsequently caught fire (after all 21 passengers on board could be evacuated) and was damaged beyond repair. The most probable cause of the accident was declared to be pilot error, as the approach
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
was not executed correctly.
External links
- Official website
- Brit Air Souffle & Passion
- Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation CivileBureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation CivileThe Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
on Air France Flight 5672
}Final report (PDF)
}Preliminary report (PDF)