View source for XL Airways France

{{Short description|Former French airline}}
{{about|the defunct French airline|the current Taiwan-based airline company|Starlux Airlines|the defunct Alaska-based airline|Star Air Service}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = XL Airways France
| image = XL Airways France logo.png
| image_size = 175
| alt = 
| caption = 
| IATA = SE<ref name=iata>{{cite web |title=IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search |url=http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/code-search.aspx |website=iata.org |access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>
| ICAO = XLF
| callsign = STARWAY
| founded = {{start date and age|1995|08|df=y}} (as ''Star Airlines'')<ref name=star-airlines>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.star-airlines.fr/en/company/history.htm |website=star-airlines.fr |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910041447/http://www.star-airlines.fr/en/company/history.htm |archive-date=10 September 2006}}</ref>
| commenced = {{start date and age|1995|12|22|df=y}}<ref name=star-airlines />
| ceased = {{end date and age|2019|09|23|df=y}}
| aoc = 
| bases = [[Charles de Gaulle Airport|Paris–Charles de Gaulle]]
| frequent_flyer = 
| alliance = 
| subsidiaries = 
| fleet_size = 3
| destinations = 16
| parent = [[ALMC hf]]
| headquarters = [[Tremblay-en-France]],<br/> [[Seine-Saint-Denis]],<br/>[[Île-de-France]], [[France]]
| key_people = 
| revenue = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income = 
| profit = 
| assets = 
| equity = 
| num_employees = 
| website = {{URL|xl.fr}}
}}

'''XL Airways France''' was a French [[airline]] with its head offices on the grounds of [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport]]. It operated scheduled flights mainly to long-haul destinations in [[Africa]], the [[Middle East]], the [[United States]] and the [[Caribbean]] as well as charter flights to medium-haul destinations in the [[Mediterranean]], mostly out of Charles de Gaulle Airport. On 19 September 2019, XL Airways announced the suspension of all flights as of 23 September; ticket sales ceased immediately and the company was placed under legal [[receivership]] and subsequently [[liquidation|wound up]]. With the closure of the airline, it joined its sister airlines [[XL Airways UK]] and [[XL Airways Germany]], both of which were also defunct, ending the use of the XL Airways brand.

==History==
[[File:Star XL A320 F-GRSN.jpg|thumb|A Star Airlines [[Airbus A320-200]] operating for [[Germanwings]] in 2006]]

The airline was founded  by Cédric Pastour in August 1995 as '''Société de Transport Aérien Régional''' and was trading under '''Star Europe'''. In October 1997 it changed its trading name to '''Star Airlines'''.<ref name=star-airlines/> On 23 November 2006 the airline changed its name to ''XL Airways France''.<ref name=nameChange>{{cite web |title=XL AIRWAYS France - Accueil |url=http://www.xlairways.fr/fr/ |website=xlairways.fr |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008061352/http://www.xlairways.fr/fr/ |archive-date=8 October 2007}}</ref> On 12 September 2008, parent XL Leisure was about to declare bankruptcy.<ref name=times>{{cite web |title=Thousands may be stranded as XL Leisure prepares to declare bankruptcy |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/thousands-may-be-stranded-as-xl-leisure-prepares-to-declare-bankruptcy-q66gzgcrh2j |website=[[The Times]] |date=12 September 2008 |access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> The airline was then bought by [[Straumur Investment Bank]] (later ''ALMC hf'').<ref name=travelweekly>{{cite web |title=XL's Airways Germany and France businesses continue to operate |url=http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/2008/09/25/28958/xls-airways-germany-and-france-businesses-continue-to.html |website=travelweekly.co.uk |access-date=2 May 2015 |archive-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620224609/http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/2008/09/25/28958/xls-airways-germany-and-france-businesses-continue-to.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 19 September 2019, XL Airways was placed under legal [[receivership]] due to financial difficulties. Ticket sales ceased immediately, and flights were suspended from 23 September.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wert |first1=Jakob |title=XL Airways France suspends ticket sales |url=https://www.ifn.news/posts/xl-airways-france-suspends-ticket-sales/ |work=International Flight Network |date=19 September 2019}}</ref> Negotiations with potential buyers had been under way for over a year, and the search for a new buyer continued under the auspices of the commercial court.<ref>{{cite news |title=The French company XL Airways seeks its placement in receivership |url=https://www.en24.news/2019/09/the-french-company-xl-airways-seeks-its-placement-in-receivership.html |work=En24 News |date=19 September 2019}}{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Only one formal bid was received by the deadline of 4 October{{snd}}from Gérard Houa, former minority shareholder of [[Aigle Azur]], who proposed to take over two of XL Airways' four planes and 48% of its 570 staff{{snd}}but the court deemed that the guarantees were insufficient and ordered the [[liquidation]] of the company.<ref>{{cite news |title=La compagnie aérienne française XL Airways placée en liquidation judiciaire |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2019/10/04/la-compagnie-aerienne-francaise-xl-airways-placee-en-liquidation-judiciaire_6014235_3234.html |work=Le Monde |agency=AFP |date=4 October 2019 |language=fr |trans-title=French airline XL Airways wound up}}</ref> In January 2020, the airline's remaining assets were auctioned off; the company's brand names and domain names were sold to an unnamed bidder for €686,400, leaving open the possibility of the name being revived.<ref>{{cite news |title=La marque XL Airways bradée aux enchères |url=https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/la-marque-xl-airways-bradee-aux-encheres-1360674 |work=Capital.fr |date=27 January 2020 |language=fr |trans-title=The XL airways brand name auctioned off for a song}}</ref>

==Corporate affairs==
XL Airways's head office is in the Bâtiment Mars in [[Continental Square II]] on the grounds of [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] and in the commune of [[Tremblay-en-France]].<ref name=disc>{{cite web |title=DISCLAIMER |url=http://www.xl.com/en/article.cfm?idArticle=15 |website=xl.com |access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> The airline's head office was originally in the Immeuble Horizon facility in [[Noisy-le-Grand]],<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20040211145929/http://www.star-airlines.fr/fr/infos/contact.htm Contacts]." Star Airlines. 11 February 2004. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "STAR AIRLINES Immeuble Horizon 10 allée Bienvenue 93885 NOISY LE GRAND Cédex ."</ref> in the [[Marne-la-Vallée]] development. Cédric Pastour, the founder of the airline, said that the company chose the Noisy site because the airline did not yet know which airport, [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport|Charles de Gaulle Airport]] or [[Paris-Orly Airport|Orly Airport]], would serve as the airline's base, and that the Noisy site was equidistant to both airports. Pastour added that the Noisy site had access to the [[A4 autoroute|A4]] and the [[A86 autoroute|A86]] autoroutes and was close to the [[Francilienne]], and that the costs in the Noisy area were lower than the costs in the airport area.<ref>"[http://search.lesechos.fr/archives/1998/LesEchos/17561-96-ECH.htm?xtor=AL-4001 Star Airlines : décollage réussi]{{dead link|date=July 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}." ''[[Les Échos (France)|Les Echos]]''. 12 January 1998. #17561, Page 21. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "ce transporteur aérien a choisi de s'installer à Noisy-le-Grand, l'un des pôles en développement de la Seine-Saint-Denis, dans le périmètre de la ville nouvelle de Marne-la-Vallée. « Nous nous sommes implantés là car nous ne savions pas encore de quel aéroport _ Orly ou Roissy _ décolleraient nos avions. Or Noisy-le-Grand est à égale distance des deux sites et bénéficie d'un noeud autoroutier : l'A4, l'A86, la Francilienne pas loin. Et le coût y est moindre que dans une zone aéroportuaire », confie Cédric Pastour, le PDG, ancien directeur général adjoint d'Air Liberté au côté de Lotfi Belhassine."</ref>

==Destinations==
XL Airways France flew to the following destinations (as of June 2019):<ref>[http://www.xl.com/us/carte.cfm XL Airways destinations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128043954/http://www.xl.com/us/carte.cfm|date=January 28, 2016}}</ref>

{|class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|Country
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|City
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|IATA
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|ICAO
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|Airport
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white"|Notes
!style="background-color:#1268B3;color: white" class="unsortable"|Refs
|-
|{{CHN}}||[[Jinan]]||align=center|TNA||align=center|ZSJN||[[Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport]]||align=center| ||<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/279055/xl-airways-france-adds-jinan-link-from-late-june-2018/ |title=XL Airways France adds Jinan link from late-June 2018}}</ref>
|-
|{{CUB}}||[[Varadero]]||align=center|VRA||align=center|MUVR||[[Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|{{DOM}}||[[Punta Cana]]||align=center|PUJ||align=center|MDPC||[[Punta Cana International Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|rowspan=4|{{FRA}}||[[Lyon]]||align=center|LYS||align=center|LFLL||[[Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|[[Marseille]]||align=center|MRS||align=center|LFML||[[Marseille Provence Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|[[Nantes]]||align=center|NTE||align=center|LFRS||[[Nantes Atlantique Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|[[Paris]]||align=center|CDG||align=center|LFPG||[[Charles de Gaulle Airport]]||{{Airline hub|'''Base'''}}||
|-
|{{flag|Guadeloupe}}||[[Pointe-à-Pitre]]||align=center|PTP||align=center|TFFR||[[Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|{{ISR}}||[[Tel Aviv]]||align=center|TLV||align=center|LLBG||[[Ben Gurion Airport]]||{{Airline seasonal}}||
|-
|{{flag|Martinique}}||[[Fort-de-France]]||align=center|FDF||align=center|TFFF||[[Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|{{MEX}}||[[Cancún]]||align=center|CUN||align=center|MMUN||[[Cancún International Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|{{flag|Réunion}}||[[Saint-Denis, Réunion|Saint-Denis]]||align=center|RUN||align=center|FMEE||[[Roland Garros Airport]]||align=center| ||
|-
|rowspan=4|{{USA}}||[[Los Angeles]]||align=center|LAX||align=center|KLAX||[[Los Angeles International Airport]]||{{Airline seasonal}}||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airlineroute.net/2015/08/28/se-lax-jun16/ |title=XL Airways France to Launch Paris - Los Angeles Flights from June 2016 |publisher=Airlineroute.net |date=27 August 2015 |access-date=27 August 2015}}</ref>
|-
|[[Miami]]||align=center|MIA||align=center|KMIA||[[Miami International Airport]]||{{Airline seasonal}}||<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.air-journal.fr/2013-02-24-xl-airways-lancera-un-juin-un-vol-vers-miami-567751.html |title=XL Airways lancera un juin un vol vers Miami &#124; Air Journal |date=24 February 2013}}</ref>
|-
|[[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]]||align=center|EWR||align=center|KEWR||[[Newark Liberty International Airport]]||align=center| ||<ref>{{cite web |title=XL Airways déménage son Paris – New York vers Newark |date=14 February 2019 |url=https://www.air-journal.fr/2019-02-14-xl-airways-demenage-son-paris-new-york-vers-newark-5210396.html |access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref>
|-
|[[San Francisco]]||align=center|SFO||align=center|KSFO||[[San Francisco International Airport]]||{{Airline seasonal}}||<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tourmag.com/Ete-2012-XL-Airways-France-lancera-San-Francisco_a48033.html |title=Ete 2012 : XL Airways France lancera San Francisco}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Fleet==
===Fleet at airline's closing===
[[File:F-GRSQ LLBG02-04-2015a.jpg|thumb|XL Airways France [[Airbus A330-200]] landing at [[Ben Gurion Airport]] in 2015]]
At the time of closure, the XL Airways France fleet consisted of the following aircraft:<ref>{{cite journal |title=Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One) |journal=Airliner World |volume=October 2019 |page=14}}</ref><ref name="xl.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.xl.com/en/our-fleet |title=Our fleet |website=XL Airways |access-date=22 November 2018}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|+ XL Airways France fleet
|-
!rowspan=2|Aircraft
!rowspan=2|In <br> service
!rowspan=2|Orders
!colspan=3|Passengers
!rowspan=2|Notes
|-
!<abbr title=Business>C</abbr>
!<abbr title=Economy>Y</abbr>
!Total
|-
|[[Airbus A330-200]]
|3
|&mdash;
|21
|343
|364
|
|-
|[[Airbus A330-900]]
|&mdash;
|2
|colspan=3|<abbr title="To Be Announced">TBA</abbr>
|Deliveries would have begun in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://airlinerwatch.com/xl-airways-france-orders-two-airbus-a330-900/ |title=XL Airways France orders two Airbus A330-900 |date=10 January 2019 |website=Airlinerwatch |access-date=14 January 2019}}</ref>
|-
!Total
!3
!2
!colspan=4|
|}

===Formerly operated===
XL Airways France previously operated the following aircraft types:{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|+ XL Airways France historical fleet
|-
!Aircraft
!Total
!Introduced
!Retired
!Notes
|-
|[[Airbus A310-300]]
|1
|2005
|2006
|Leased from [[Air Atlanta Icelandic]]
|-
|[[Airbus A320-200]]
|11
|1997
|2013
|
|-
|rowspan=3|[[Airbus A330-300]]
|1
|2010
|2010
|Leased from [[Iberworld]]
|-
|2
|2011
|2012
|Leased from [[Orbest]] and [[Orbest Orizonia Airlines]]
|-
|3
|2014
|2019
|
|-
|[[Airbus A340-300]]
|1
|2014
|2014
|Leased from [[Hi Fly (airline)|Hi Fly]]
|-
|[[Boeing 737-300]]
|1
|1995
|1996
|
|-
|[[Boeing 737-400]]
|2
|1996
|1997
|Sold to [[Jet Airways]]
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Boeing 737-800]]
|1
|2007
|2007
|Leased from [[XL Airways Germany]]
|-
|5
|2008
|2016
|
|-
|}

==Cabin and service==
XL Airways France's Airbus A330s were configured entirely with Economy class seating mostly in a 3-3-3 layout, with some rows toward the rear of the aircraft configured in a 2-3-2 layout.<ref name="xl.com"/> A complimentary hot meal was served on all long-haul flights, with an additional breakfast or light meal served depending on flight length. Additional snacks and beverages were available for purchase. Comfort kits consisting of various amenities including a blanket and inflatable neck pillow were also available for purchase.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xl.com/en/know-us/our-economy-class |title=Our Economy Class |website=XL Airways |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>

Inflight entertainment was available both through overhead screens on a running schedule, and on-demand streaming to personal electronic devices via XL Cloud, the airline's wireless streaming entertainment portal. Through XL Cloud, a selection of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and other digital media were available for free, as well as a live inflight map and instant messaging between passengers, however Internet access was not provided through the portal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xl.com/en/inflight-services/flight-entertainment |title=In-flight entertainment |website=XL Airways |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref> An extended, premium selection of high definition movies and digital media was available for an all-inclusive fee.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xl.com/en/xl-cloud |title=XL Cloud |website=XL Airways |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref> In addition, paid rental of [[virtual reality]] headsets equipped with noise-cancelling headphones and a selection of movies in 2D and 3D was also available for the duration of the flight.

==See also==
*[[List of defunct airlines of France]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

*[http://www.xl.com/ Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.star-airlines.fr/en/company/introduction.htm Star Airlines] (Archive)

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[[Category:Defunct airlines of France]]
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