Air Gabon: Worldwide Network, 1992

Two lovely vintage graphics from the now sadly defunct Air Gabon, with its delightful, cartoonish icon. Underneath is a wealth of detail of the 3x weekly from Paris CDG Terminal 1 aboard a B747 Combi, with 18 First Class and 46 Business Class and 188 Economy Class seats to Libreville, with onward connections to Pointe-Noire, Luanda and Port-Gentil. Despite the lively colors and the lubricant of the lavish petrol-paradises of its regional network, and its stately ticket office on Rue Roosevelt off the Champs Elysées, Air Gabon has failed. Paris-Libreville, aside from service by Air France, is now served by Gabon Airlines with a rather blandly undecorated leased A340, which still departs terminal 1 and still has three classes of service. Travelers at Nice and Marseille must somehow make their way to Gabon without convenience of direct service.

Air Madagascar: International Routes, c.2007

Continuing with Air Madagascar from the last post, this route map, from the semi-orphaned English-language North American Air Mad website, shows the carrier's international routes from a few years ago, when Milan was served and Marseille (a current destination) was not. The site's timeline helpfully confirms that Air Mad formerly served Zurich, Frankfurt, Rome, and Munich. Although not part of this image, Air Mad's already-fanciful livery was updated as new aircraft were acquired in recent years to emphasize the gorgeous, warm maroon color, but retained the famous "travelers' palm."

Air Madagascar: Zürich-Antananarivo, 1986

A gorgeously designed and stamped first day cover celebrating the first flight of Air Madagascar from Zürich to Antananarivo, 1 November 1986 with Air Mad's B747B . Sadly, Air Mad no longer serves Kloten Airport, and once served Frankfurt and Milan as well, but does still offer Paris and Marsielle. However, today its largest aircraft is the B767-300.

Air Namibia: Systemwide Network, 2010

Air Namibia has successfully served its prosperous but sparsely-populated republic since independence in 1990. Intercontinental routes have concentrated on London and Frankfurt (largely due to Namibia's unique population of German-speakers). Air Berlin currently serves Windhoek, and the London-Gatwick route has been difficult to sustain, and was suspended in May 2009. Air Namibia has had better luck since 2009 with direct service from Johannesburg to Accra, using its two A340.