“Je m’en vais dimanche à Orly
Sur l’aéroport, on voit s’envoler
Des avions pour tous les pays
Tout l’après-midi, y a de quoi rêver
Je me sens des fourmis dans les idées
Quand je rentre chez moi la nuit tombée”
– Dimanche à Orly, by Gilbert Bécaud
Another classic missing in my collection of airlines that would have featured in this category, is TWA – Trans World Airlines. The airline operated in interesting European network in the late 1990s, which is when I flew with them. Originally, they had small fleets of short haul aircraft stationed around Europe that would distribute passengers coming off their North Atlantic services to the secondary airport.
Later on, they concentrated their European hub activities at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. And that is how I got to fly with them – on a Boeing B 767-200 from Zürich to Paris to visit a friend. If I remember correctly, the ticket cost me about CHF300, which was considered dirt cheap in comparison to what Swissair and Air France were charging on the route.