| Airline: | AOM French Airlines |
| Iata: | IW |
| Icao: | AOM |
| Callsign: | FRENCH LINES |
| Ceased: | (merged into Air Liberté) |
| Key People: | Marc Rochet |
| Hubs: | Orly Airport |
| Frequent Flyer: | Qualiflyer |
AOM French Airlines, previously named Air Outre-Mer, was the second-largest airline in France that operated from 1988 until 2001. Its head office was in Building 363 at Orly Airport, Paray-Vieille-Poste.[1]
Air Outre Mer, or AOM for short, was founded in 1988 in the French overseas département of the island of Réunion and began scheduled passenger service in 1990 with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 and a Dornier 228. In October 1991, Air Outre Mer merged with Air Minerve, a French airline which was based at Orly Airport and had operated since 1975. The two companies began operating under the name AOM French Airlines although the administrative name was "AOM-Minerve S.A.". Air Minerve was the first airline to compete directly with Air Inter on the French domestic airline market by opening a Paris (Orly) - Nice route in May 1990. In February 1999, Swissair acquired a 49% stake in the airline as a part of its "hunter strategy". For most of the decade, the airline fiercely competed with Air France on both the French domestic market and on the air routes to the French overseas territories.
Due to inappropriate fleet management and overcapacity, the airline quickly accumulated huge debts and consequently ceased operations in 2001 (possibly as a result of the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the early 2000s recession which followed). The airline's final bankruptcy was approved after several months of strikes. On 25 March 2001 AOM French Airlines merged with Air Liberté, the airline retaining the name "Air Liberté".[2] On 22 September 2001 the airline was renamed "Air Lib".[3] AOM's disappearance was followed by several other French airlines in the next several years.
AOM French Airlines served the following destinations:
AOM French Airlines has operated the following aircraft throughout its existence:[5]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4 | 1 | 1999 | 2000 | Leased from TransAer International Airlines. |
| Airbus A340-200 | 3 | 1999 | 2001 | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 2 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 1996 | 1996 | Leased from Air Toulouse. |
| Boeing 737-500 | 3 | 1998 | 2000 | Leased from LOT Polish Airlines. |
| Boeing 747-200B | 1 | 1992 | 1993 | |
| Douglas DC-8-62CF | 1 | 1992 | 1992 | |
| Douglas DC-8-73 | 1 | 1992 | 1992 | Leased to Air Sweden. |
| Fokker 100 | 1 | 1996 | 1996 | Leased from Transwede Airways. |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 15 | 1990 | 2001 | One crashed as Cubana Flight 1216. |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1 | 1994 | 1994 | Leased from Meridiana. |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 14 | 1992 | 2001 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 1 | 1995 | 1996 | Leased from Transwede Airways. |
United States