Atlantique Air Assistance is based on the west coast of France, at Nantes-Atlantique. EBAN’s Dan Cook asked Catherine Sallier, communications manager, exactly what type of “assistance” the company offered.

“We are a corporate aviation company, offering charter trips in France. We also have contracts with hospitals for emergency transports,” she said.

“We have three Beechcraft 90s, and two 1900s. We fly all over Europe and the Mediterranean.”

Atlantique’s customers typically include executives and sports clubs. Over the last season it has been transporting a women’s football club, Saint Brieuc. “They lost a lot, they haven’t been very good this year,” she laughed. What is the atmosphere like on the aircraft after a defeat? “When they lose they drink a lot of champagne.

“With the 1900 we transport sports clubs and with the 90 we transport the president of the Football Federation, Claude Simonet, and various politicians and members of the [French] government too.

“We also do show business: We transported James Brown last year. He didn’t pay! We did get the money, because we took it to the French consulate in Atlanta and they put pressure on him to pay. He was travelling in France for his tour, and he was very nice, he wanted to invite our pilots to the show, but they couldn’t go as we had another flight. But he was nice. You can be nice when you don’t pay,” she said.

So are Atlantique Air Assistance content with their Beechcraft fleet? “We are flying to Wichita [the home of Raytheon Aircraft] this Friday, to negotiate another aircraft. We are going to look at another 1900D,” said Sallier.

We asked her how business was in France, and if the war in Afghanistan was having a negative effect on business: “We have had a lot of people cancelling,” she reported. “Even on private flights you always need to use the infrastructure, the airports, so danger may be present.” A tour operator organising holidays for old people which sometimes uses Atlantique’s aircraft has told Sallier that its customers only want to travel by bus now.

“This is a very large crisis. We are in emergency activities. We did lose a lot of business: Before we had bookings 15 days in advance. Now we have nothing beyond today and tomorrow. The hospital flights never stop, but even the sports clubs are cancelling. I guess we are going to open a restaurant!” said Sallier.

“Before September 11 we did a very good job. We are one of the only charter aviation companies in the west [of France] that is in good shape. Still, we are flying to Wichita, so you could say we are optimistic for the future.”

Catherine is currently planning to revamp the company’s website to make it more direct and more “in-motion”. “I wanted to replace it anyway, but with what happened in America I feel it is the moment to communicate better about aviation. What is the main message? We are with you, you can trust us, we have the know-how.”

As well as the planned trip to Wichita, next year the company plans to introduce a 30-seat Embraer aircraft: “All the books are ready and we only have to purchase the aircraft. It is planned for next year, for the first semester,” said Sallier.

Atlantique’s 19-seat Beechcraft were being used, before September 11, to stand in for the aircraft of

Air France and its regional subsidiaries when they were down for technical reasons.

This contract was yielding flying duties for the charterer “absolutely every day”, but according to Sallier the airline has recently announced it will not be requiring 19-seat aircraft as back-up.

“They have said it will be 30 place aircraft, and we must change as the relationship changes” – hence the prospective Embraer purchase, she added.

But you are looking at buying another 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D from Wichita this week, EBAN protested. “There is a market for this aircraft. We are going to refit the aircraft with 12 vip seats, for the business market. Hopefully like that we can offer another type of service,” she said. As Atlantique Air

Assistance has been in operation for 12 years under the guidance of boss and founder André Besseau, we didn’t argue.