Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne


Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, or Régional for short, was a subsidiary airline wholly owned by Air France which conneced hubs at Paris, Lyon to 49 airports in Europe. The airline operated in Air France livery, retaining its name in small titles and logo on the front fuselage and engines. It became the first European operator of the Embraer 190 aircraft in November 2006. It was headquartered in Bouguenais at the Nantes Atlantique Airport.
The airline, along with Brit Air and Airlinair, was fully merged in HOP! since 2017 after a year of negotiation process.

History

On 30 March 2001, Flandre Air, Proteus Airlines, and Regional Airlines merged into Régional.
Régional as of 2006 was upgrading and consolidating its fleet, considering to ally with a turboprop partner as it increasingly turned its focus to its jet operations. The 2 remaining Saab 2000s were phased out in 2006 and the last of its 9 Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias followed in 2008, marking the exit of all of Régional's turboprop aircraft.
From 31 March 2013, Régional services were operated under the HOP! brand. Régional ceased all flight operations in March 2017 after its merger in HOP!.

Destinations

Fleet

The Régional fleet includes the following aircraft in March 2013, the average fleet age is 12.3 years.

AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengers
Embraer 1351037
Embraer 14517050
Embraer 17016076
Embraer 190100100
Total440


It became the first European operator of the Embraer 190 on 23 November 2006, when the first of six on order was delivered. The 100-seat aircraft will operate domestic and intra-European services in full Air France colours. Régional received its first Embraer 170 of 6 orders, which wears the new Régional logo, on September 2, 2008.
The Embraer 190s are part of a new order over the Air France-KLM group with another 18 further options. All Fokkers have been transferred to KLM Cityhopper. The last propeller aircraft Embraer EMB 120 left the fleet on October 10, 2008 replaced by the ERJ-135

Head office

The head office of the airline was located on the grounds of Nantes Atlantique Airport in Bouguenais, near Nantes. The head office was adjacent to the airport hotels. Nantes Atlantique Airport had the head office of Regional Airlines, the largest of the three companies that were merged into the current Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne.

Incidents and accidents