AOM French Airlines was the second-largest airline in France that operated from 1991 until 2001. Its head office was in Building 363 at Orly Airport, Paray-Vieille-Poste. Its IATA code has since been reassigned to Wings Air.
Air Outre Mer, or AOM for short, was founded in 1987 in the French overseas département of the island of Réunion and began scheduled passenger service in 1990 with a Dornier 228 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30. In October 1991, Air Outre Mer merged with Minerve, a French airline which was based at Orly Airport and had operated since 1975. Minerve had been 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.
The two companies began operating under the name AOM French Airlines although the administrative name was "AOM-Minerve S.A.". 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". On 15 June 2001 Air Liberté-AOM filed for bankruptcy in Paris. On 22 September 2001 the airline was renamed "". 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: