1921 |
The "Airmail" Envelope.
The volume of mail carried increased so much that a special red envelope was designed and made available free of charge to LAL users. |
1921 |
LAL Becomes the General Company of Aeronautic Enterprises - CGEA.
The company's old and new names were used on promotional material. For aeronautical construction, the companies were joined under one name: SIDAL_Latécoère Industrial Aviation Company. |
1922 |
Inauguration of the Casablanca-Rabat-Fez-Oran Junction.
This line operated biweekly until December 31, 1927. |
1923 |
Marseille and Toulouse Become Terminuses. |
1923 |
Casablanca-Dakar Section Recognized.
Six stops, where parts, fuel and emergency planes could be stored, were planned along the African coast. |
1924 |
Section of the Future South American Line Recognized.
Expansion of the Natal-Buenos Aires line was planned. |
1924 |
Pilots Jean Mermoz and Marcel Reine Join CGEA. |
1925 |
Opening of the Casablanca-Dakar Airmail Service.
The Casablanca-Dakar route usually took 23 hours (summer schedule, including 30-minute transfers at each of the five stopovers: Agadir, Cap-Juby, Villa Cisneros, Port-Étienne [now Nouadhibou] and Saint-Louis) or 32 hours (winter schedule, including an overnight stop in Cap-Juby). The flight was made weekly in each direction. |
1925 |
Opening of the Alicante-Alger Line.
This line connected to the France-Morocco line, and was in operation until December 19. |
1926 |
Arrival of Henri Guillaumet, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Other Experienced Pilots. |
1926 |
CGEA Becomes Aéropostale.
CGEA was successful - mostly due to the regularity and efficiency of its mail transport - but the company was not profitable. Surcharges paid by airmail users and government subsidies were insufficient, the company constantly needed financing, and Latécoère was in need of money to build the new Laté 25 and 26, which had been designed in his factories. And so he sold his line to SUDAM (South American Public Works), part of the Bouilloux-Lafont group, for 30 million francs. The following year, SUDAM became the Aéropostale General Company (Compagnie générale aéropostale). |