Chalair Aviation is a French

regional airline 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 ...

with its head office and base on the grounds of Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Carpiquet. It operates scheduled regional services as well as charter flights for various occasions.

History

The airline was founded in October 1986 as Chalair by Philippe Lebaron and renamed to Chalair Aviation in 1997. Starting 1997, besides business and freight flights, Chalair Aviation began operating a

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, Cabin pressurization, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, Swearingen ...

for scheduled flights between

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

and

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

and an

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

between

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

and

Orly Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the c ...

. Between 1997 and 2004, Chalair Aviation operated 1

, 1 ATR 42-300 and 3 Cessna Citation II and CJ2 jets. The airline provides scheduled services as well as corporate shuttle services, freight (including toxic and corrosive material), business and sanitary flights, pilot certification and training, aircraft management and engineering and neighboring islands and JAR Part 145 maintenance services. The airline now employs a total 42 persons, among them 27 are pilots. In July 2016, Chalair Aviation took over the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

route from bankrupt VLM Airlines, inaugurating its first service to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

after stopping flights between Lyon and Cologne. German startup airline brand Green Airlines selected Chalair Aviation as their operating carrier for German domestic services from February 2021.

Destinations

Chalair Aviation operates to the following destinations under their own brand as of July 2019: ;France *

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

– Agen La Garenne Airport Terminated *

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

–

Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport , formerly "Campo dell'Oro Airport", is the main airport serving Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located east of Ajaccio, the capital and main city on Corsica. The airp ...

''(Summer Seasonal)'' *

Aurillac Aurillac (; ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Geography Aurillac is at above sea level and located at the foot of the Cantal mountains in a small sedimentary basin. The city is b ...

–

Aurillac – Tronquières Airport Aurillac (; ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Geography Aurillac is at above sea level and located at the foot of the Cantal mountains in a small sedimentary basin. The city is b ...

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

– Bastia – Poretta Airport ''(Summer Seasonal)'' *

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

–

Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport () is an international airport of Bordeaux, in southwestern France. It is situated in the Communes of France, ''commune'' of Mérignac, Gironde, Mérignac, west of Bordeaux, within the ''Departments of France, dé ...

base * Brest – Brest Bretagne Airport * Carpiquet - Caen - Carpiquet Airport base *

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

- Castres–Mazamet Airport *

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

– Limoges – Bellegarde Airport *

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

– Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport *

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

– Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport *

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

–

Nantes Atlantique Airport Nantes Atlantique Airport (, 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 by the ''Chambre de commerce et d'i ...

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 ...

–

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

* Pau – Pau Airport *

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

- Quimper–Cornouaille Airport *

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

– Rennes–Saint-Jacques Airport United Kingdom *

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

- Southampton Airport ''(Summer Seasonal)'' ;Ireland * Kerry -

Kerry Airport Kerry Airport (; ), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is north off the Ring of Kerry and southeast of the county town, Tralee. Passenger services are operated by Ryanair an ...

''(Summer Seasonal)''

Airline partnerships

Chalair Aviation currently has a codeshare partnership with Air Caraibes

Fleet

As of May 2023, the Chalair Aviation consists of the following aircraft:planespotters.net - Chalair Aviation fleet details
retrieved 1 May 2023

References

External links

* {{Airlines of France Airlines of France Airlines established in 1986 French companies established in 1986