The meeting is held at Paray-Vieille-Poste, next to Orly Airport, in the south of Paris. Inside a secret place, closed to the public, Air France keeps its exceptional heritage. No other airline company in the world owns such a historical legacy. A real Ali baba’s cave. The rich patrimony of the French airline will be moving to Roissy in 2022- on the same site- close to the company headquarters where the most precious objects are already kept like the table of artist Bernard Lamotte, where Saint Exupéry engraved his first drawing of The Little Prince. An allusion to the strong link between the United States and France, the iconic Paris New York route which celebrated its 75th anniversary last June.
Inside “la réserve du patrimoine” as they call it at Air France, more than 25 000 objects are listed and preserved: uniforms, menus of the Concorde, objects of arts de la table, toys, posters, models, boarding passes and so much more. Born in August 1933, the French airline has accumulated an unbelievable collection throughout the years and with the help of its employees . “We have an extreme know how at Air France and we know how to keep and maintain the heritage and history of our emblematic French company” said Sylvie Tarbouriech, Air France VP Brand & Advertising during the visit. “Our dream is to have an Air France museum one day!” she added. Who knows? For now, the archives are a real French treasure.
The uniforms tell the history of the company. More than 15oo uniforms are displayed by dates and by companies: Air Orient, UTA and Air Inter. Air Orient disappeared in 1933 when Air France was created but the company has kept the Air Orient emblem: “the winged seahorse” and today it is the most iconic historical symbol. In January 1990, UTA and Air Inter created the Group Air France, the world’s biggest airline group which settled its headquarters five years later in Roissy Charles de Gaulle.
On the racks, the uniforms of the cabin crew have evolved throughout the years since the first one in 1946 until today. A history of French fashion, a window on the world. The first uniform of the first steward inspired Alain Ducasse to create the uniform of the waiters for the restaurant lounge La Première in Charles De Gaulle airport.
Georgette Renal designed the first hostesses’ uniforms around 1945-1946. The greatest couturiers from Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Jacques Esterel or Jean Patou who designed the iconic uniforms of the Concorde crew have built the history of the company. Since 2005, Christian Lacroix has designed the uniforms of the company. Here and there, numerous gems. Sylvie Tarbouriech likes to show a traditional colored Polynesian dress with its hibiscus, part of the Air France uniform, as the hostesses change their uniforms during the stopover. “Our uniforms are frequently lent to exhibitions around the world dealing with the French theme and with film shootings”, she added.
Among the dresses, bags, gloves which composed the uniforms, more than 2000 menus and posters are again preserved. The most beautiful menus of the Concorde. In another secret room, around 600 models of Air France Boeing 747, Concorde and all the iconic planes which have shaped French history.
These models used to be displayed in the Air France travel agency. A symbol of an entire era. Sylvie Tabouriech pointed out the exceptional collection of “the art de la table” at Air France. Whereas the plates were first made of porcelain, today they are made of melanin and aluminum, as the ultimate goal is to reduce weight, a fundamental objective today.
Tiny objects like sugar sachets, Air France original flag, artworks by Vasarely, Soto, Pierre Soulages which decorated the Air France agency, a tapestry which decorated Boeing 707 or even 85o toys like the only Barbie made for an airline company, UTA in 1987, can be found there.
Air France Museum Association was created in 2001 and works in partnership with Air France's historic and cultural heritage department for the conservation, the development and the enhancement of the company's heritage. Around 300 members, composed mainly of employees of the company and retired workers, are part of the association. A testimony to the history of Air France and aeronautics throughout the twentieth century until today and for the future. As for the connoisseurs, while waiting one day for a real Air France museum, they can take a virtual tour of the museum. For 1o years now, Air France and Gallica have partnered to digitalize the posters and magazines of the company. Launched in 1997, Gallica is the digital library created by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and its partner institutions, probably one of the richest resources online composed of more than eight millions of documents where you will find the entire collection of Air France papers heritage, more than 40,000 pages of the Air France publications.
Besides, in 2018, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the the French airline, the company set up the Air France Museum Heritage Endowment Fund. The goal was to protect the most precious and representative objects of the company, its history from the Air France Museum and Heritage collections and to facilitate donations. Thanks to numerous gifts, the unique collection of the company has been extended.
The clear objective of Air France is to promote this fabulous heritage throughout movies and exhibitions around the world, highlighting this fabulous French richness. In 2022, Air France photographs will be showcased at Manufacture des Tabacs de Morlaix and Air France art de la table at Musée de Limoges. For now, you can visit the exhibition “A la rencontre du Petit Prince” at The MAD Paris until December 2022 and discover fabulous treasures.
