Atlas Blue

Atlas Blue

IATA 8A ICAO BMM Callsign ATLAS BLUE
Founded	2004
Ceased operations	2009 (merged into Royal Air Maroc)
Hubs	Marrakech-Menara Airport Tangier-Boukhalef Airport
Secondary hubs	Agadir – Al Massira Airport Nador International Airport
Fleet size	14 (upon merger)
Destinations	26
Parent company	Royal Air Maroc
Headquarters	Marrakech, Morocco
Key people	Driss Benhima
Website	www.atlas-blue.com (now defunct) http://www.royalairmaroc.com/ (since merger)

Atlas Blue was a low-cost airline with its head office on the grounds of Marrakech-Menara Airport in Marrakech, Morocco, operating out of Menara International Airport.^[1]

Since the end of 2009, Atlas Blue is a subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), operating chartered and scheduled services to Europe.^[2] During 2010, Atlas Blue flights were rebranded as Royal Air Maroc flights, with the aircraft being re-painted in RAM livery, too. By the end of 2010, the Atlas Blue brand will cease to exist.^[3]

History

Atlas Blue was established on 28 May 2004 and started operations on 26 July 2004, with charter operations from Morocco to France using a single Boeing 737-400. Another 5 Boeing 737-400s were transferred from Royal Air Maroc to expand services to Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.^[4] Atlas Blue is owned by Royal Air Maroc (99.99%) and private investors (0.01%), and has 167 employees.^[2]

At the end of 2009, Royal Air Maroc bought Atlas Blue. As a first sign of the merger, the Atlas Blue website was shut down on 21 of January 2010.^[5]

Destinations

Atlas Blue Boeing 737-400

Atlas Blue operated scheduled flights to the following destinations (as of February 2010):^[6]

Africa

• Morocco
  • Agadir - Al Massira Airport focus city
  • Al Hoceima - Cherif Al Idrissi Airport
  • Essaouira - Mogador Airport
  • Fes - Saïss Airport
  • Marrakech - Menara International Airport Hub
  • Nador - Nador International Airport Focus city
  • Ouarzazate - Ouarzazate Airport
  • Oujda - Angads Airport
  • Tangier - Ibn Batouta International Airport Secondary Hub

Europe

• Belgium
  • Brussels - Brussels Airport focus city
• Germany
  • Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf International Airport [seasonal]
  • Frankfurt - Frankfurt Airport
  • Munich - Munich Airport
• France
  • Bordeaux - Bordeaux - Mérignac Airport
  • Lille - Lesquin Airport
  • Lyon - Saint-Exupéry Airport
  • Marseilles - Provence Airport
  • Metz/Nancy - Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport [seasonal]
  • Nantes - Atlantique Airport
  • Nice - Côte d'Azur Airport
  • Paris - Orly Airport
  • Saint-Étienne – Bouthéon Airport [seasonal]
  • Toulouse - Blagnac Airport
• Italy
  • Milan - Malpensa Airport
• Poland
  • Warsaw - Warsaw Airport
• Netherlands
  • Amsterdam - Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
• Spain
  • Barcelona - Barcelona Airport
  • Madrid - Barajas Airport
• Switzerland
  • Geneva - Geneva International Airport
• United Kingdom
  • London
    • London Gatwick Airport
    • London Heathrow Airport

Fleet

The Atlas Blue fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of January 2010) ^[7]

As of August 2010, all aircraft except of two Airbus A321 have been handed over to Royal Air Maroc.^[8]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlas Blue.

• Royal Air Maroc
• Atlas Blue (Archive)
• Atlas Blue (Archive) (French)
• Atlas Blue Fleet

Airlines of Morocco Air Arabia Maroc Casa Air Service Med Airlines RAM Cargo Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc Express