Aeropostale: The legendary pilots who united the world through airmail

What do two major national airlines, an American fashion retailer, a large publicly traded industrial company, a Hollywood blockbuster, and several award-winning books all share?

They are all tied to the remarkable legacy of an airline that ceased operations 90 years ago this year.

Though its existence was brief, from 1918 to 1931, the ‘Compagnie générale aéropostale,’ better known simply as Aéropostale, left a lasting impact both in aviation history and in the public consciousness.

At the close of World War I, French aviation pioneer Pierre-Georges Latécoère brought to life his dream of establishing a regular airmail route connecting Europe to Latin America.

The company that would become Aéropostale was established in late 1918, originally named ‘Société des lignes Latécoère.’

Over the next ten years, this company played a pivotal role in establishing air transportation as a vital service across the globe, while also becoming a symbol of adventure and boldness. The tale of Aéropostale may well be the last grand adventure story of the exploration age.

Aéropostale’s extensive route began in Toulouse, in southern France. From there, it crossed the Pyrenees to Barcelona, then followed the Mediterranean coastline of Spain to Alicante, before heading to North Africa, which was under Spanish and French control at the time.

The route continued south along Morocco’s Atlantic coast, with key stops in Casablanca, Agadir, Cape Juby/Tarfaya, and the modern-day cities of Dakhla, Nouadhibou, and Saint-Louis, until reaching its final African stop in Dakar, Senegal.

Due to the aircraft limitations of the era, mail was then transferred to ships that crossed the South Atlantic at its narrowest point, between West Africa and northeastern Brazil.

From there, the Latin American division of Aéropostale took charge. Its aircraft flew the mail all the way to Buenos Aires and further. The Argentine capital served as a central hub, with several regional routes branching out, delivering air mail across the Andes to Santiago de Chile, north to Paraguay, and south towards Patagonia.

A magnet for adventurers

This venture was not for the faint-hearted. Beyond the inherent dangers of 1920s aviation, which was both risky and uncomfortable, Aéropostale’s pilots had to navigate vast, uncharted regions with no support infrastructure, often facing extreme weather conditions.

But this challenge may have been part of its irresistible charm.

Aéropostale attracted some of the most fearless aviators of the era, such as Jean Mermoz and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the famed author of 'Le Petit Prince.' These were not just courageous pioneers but also skilled writers. Their perilous journeys, immortalized in a series of acclaimed books and later films, would significantly enhance the legendary status of Aéropostale.

Saint-Exupéry’s 'Vol de Nuit' (Night Flight), published in 1931, was an immediate hit, and its story was adapted for film by John Ford in 1932’s 'Air Mail.' The novel recounts the author’s adventures on Aéropostale’s Chilean route.

The towering peaks of the Andes, reaching 20,000 feet, were a daunting challenge for the fragile aircraft of the era. One of the book’s key stories tells of Saint-Exupéry’s close friend, Aéropostale pilot Henri Guillaumet, who, after crashing his plane on a glacier, embarked on a harrowing trek through snow and ice. Near death from cold and exhaustion, he managed to reach a remote Argentinian settlement.

This dramatic account was followed by 'Terre des Hommes' (translated as 'Wind, Sand and Stars'), in which Saint-Exupéry describes his own harrowing flight experiences over the Sahara Desert. Pilots relied on rudimentary navigation techniques, often facing the danger of fuel shortages or mechanical failure. Emergency landings in the desert posed the added risk of capture by local nomadic tribes, who would then try to ransom the pilots.

The book also details Saint-Exupéry’s own life-threatening ordeal after a crash-landing in the Egyptian desert, well after his Aéropostale days. Together with his co-pilot, they survived a grueling journey through the desert, nearly succumbing to thirst before being rescued by a Bedouin tribe.

The pioneering spirit of Aéropostale wasn’t confined to its pilots.

Raymond Galtié’s story exemplifies this. Born in 1901 in southern France, he joined the French navy’s submarine division as a teenager. After serving in World War I, Galtié left the navy in 1922 to work as a mechanic for Aéropostale.

“At that time, mechanics often flew alongside legendary pilots like Mermoz or Saint-Exupéry. They formed strong bonds from spending countless hours together in those small, fragile planes,” recalls Sònia Galtié, Raymond’s granddaughter, who recently discovered a collection of old family photos.

This discovery led her to dive deeper into her grandfather’s life and the history of Aéropostale. She found numerous websites and forums that honor the legacy of the airline and its tight-knit community of people dedicated to advancing aviation.

Raymond Galtié’s association with Aéropostale had a positive outcome. He traveled extensively, working at several of the company’s outposts in Latin America and Europe before enjoying a prosperous career with Air France.

However, this was not the fate of Aéropostale’s most renowned pilots.

Mermoz, Saint-Exupéry, and Guillaumet all met tragic ends at the controls of their aircraft in the years following the airline’s closure.

Saint-Exupéry and Guillaumet both vanished while on duty in the Mediterranean during World War II, in 1944 and 1940 respectively, with their deaths likely resulting from enemy action (a plane wreck discovered near Marseille in 2003 has since been confirmed as Saint-Exupéry’s aircraft).

Mermoz, on the other hand, was lost in December 1936 while crossing the South Atlantic. Some speculate his disappearance may have been caused by sabotage, though mechanical failure is considered a more probable explanation.

A lasting legacy

Although he remained closely connected to the aviation sector throughout his life, Pierre-Georges Latécoère, who went on to establish the Groupe Latécoère—one of France’s leading aerospace companies—sold the airmail operation to French financier and politician Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont in 1927. Bouilloux-Lafont renamed it 'Compagnie Générale Aéropostale.'

By 1930, Aéropostale had evolved into a vast logistics network, delivering 32 million letters annually across 17,000 kilometers of air and sea routes, operating a fleet of eight ships that spanned three continents.

In the same year, Jean Mermoz, one of Aéropostale’s iconic pilots, bridged the Atlantic gap by piloting a Latécoère 28 seaplane, carrying 122 kilos of mail. The journey from Senegal to Brazil took 19 hours and 35 minutes. While ocean crossings remained reliant on ships, Mermoz proved that mail from France could reach Santiago de Chile in just four days.

However, just as Aéropostale reached its peak, it abruptly ceased operations.

The 1929 financial collapse hit the company hard, compounded by political instability in Brazil and Argentina. In 1931, the French government rejected a plea for financial assistance, leading to Aéropostale's liquidation. Its assets were eventually absorbed by a group that would go on to form Air France.

Nevertheless, the Aéropostale name lived on within Air France, which used it for its mail and cargo services in partnership with the French postal service, La Poste, until the year 2000.

In 2000, La Poste took full ownership of the business, rebranding it as Europe Airpost. It was later sold to the Irish ASL Aviation Group, which still operates passenger and cargo flights under the ASL Airlines brand today.

Aéropostale's legacy endures in the Southern Hemisphere as well.

Aéropostale’s Argentine arm, Aeroposta Argentina, continued to operate long after its European counterpart folded, as it was the sole provider of regular civilian air service in the country. In 1946, it was nationalized and merged with other carriers to form Aerolíneas Argentinas.

In addition, the remarkable personalities involved in Aéropostale’s history, along with their extraordinary literary contributions, have helped the company’s legacy transcend aviation. This influence even led to the creation of a US fashion retail chain named Aéropostale, although it bears no actual connection to the original company.

But still, nothing compares to the authentic experience.

As the 90th anniversary of Aéropostale’s closure approaches, enthusiasts can relive the daring adventures of Mermoz, Guillaumet, and Saint-Exupéry by taking part in the Raid Latécoère-Aéropostale, a long-distance air rally that, since 2008, has faithfully followed the historic Aéropostale routes across Africa and Latin America.