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Description
In 1967, the French Aerospace manufacturer Dassault decided to build its own airliner to match the famous and wildly popular Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9. Very impressive and advanced for its time, the Mercure was optimized to fly short routes and carry 162 passengers. Its design necessitated the use of then dated Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines, but it was still more efficient and cost effective than its American counterparts. Dassault was so confident their plane would sell, they built four factories across France to handle the imagined demand. Dassault even partnered with big names in American aviation. Lockheed, Douglass, and General Dynamics. Indeed, their little regional had great promise and flew for the first time in 1971. America was to be where the Mercure shined.

But, despite its promise, airlines didn't want it. Only 12 Mercures were ever built, and 11 entered commercial service for one airline, Air Inter, which the French government had a sizable stake in. The Mercure was one of the greatest failures in aviation. The reason for its abysmal failure? Range. The Mercure simply didn't have the range to make it practical. Fully laden, it could fly for 1,000 miles. A comparable 737 could carry as many people twice that distance. During the Mercure's design, fuel capacity was reduced to save weight, which came back to haunt Dassault. 737's and DC-9's were proven workhorse aircraft that were flexible and adaptable, capable of flying both short and medium routes. The Mercure's limited range killed its appeal. Coupled with the oil crisis in the early 1970's and the inflation of the US dollar, the Mercure was expensive and its drawbacks outweighed its benefits.

As a result, Dassault never attempted to build another commercial airliner. The 737 reigned supreme in its segment, outliving the DC-9 and its variants. The Mercure's story didn't end, however. The 11 jets that did enter service flew from 1974 until their retirement in 1995. In 21 years, the Mercure fleet flew 44 million passengers, 440,000 flights, 360,000 flight hours, and retired with a spotless safety record and near perfect service reliability. Although the Mercure was the forgotten hope of Dassault Aerospace, the little jet that didn't, the examples that were produced had long, trouble-free, albeit obscure careers.

(The DC-9 on the top left is in a vintage Scandinavian Airlines livery while the 737 below him wears a Southwest Airlines livery. The Mercure has the simple Air Inter livery. The only livery the Mercure fleet ever knew.)

Description
In 1967, the French Aerospace manufacturer Dassault decided to build its own airliner to match the famous and wildly popular Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9. Very impressive and advanced for its time, the Mercure was optimized to fly short routes and carry 162 passengers. Its design necessitated the use of then dated Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines, but it was still more efficient and cost effective than its American counterparts. Dassault was so confident their plane would sell, they built four factories across France to handle the imagined demand. Dassault even partnered with big names in American aviation. Lockheed, Douglass, and General Dynamics. Indeed, their little regional had great promise and flew for the first time in 1971. America was to be where the Mercure shined.

But, despite its promise, airlines didn't want it. Only 12 Mercures were ever built, and 11 entered commercial service for one airline, Air Inter, which the French government had a sizable stake in. The Mercure was one of the greatest failures in aviation. The reason for its abysmal failure? Range. The Mercure simply didn't have the range to make it practical. Fully laden, it could fly for 1,000 miles. A comparable 737 could carry as many people twice that distance. During the Mercure's design, fuel capacity was reduced to save weight, which came back to haunt Dassault. 737's and DC-9's were proven workhorse aircraft that were flexible and adaptable, capable of flying both short and medium routes. The Mercure's limited range killed its appeal. Coupled with the oil crisis in the early 1970's and the inflation of the US dollar, the Mercure was expensive and its drawbacks outweighed its benefits.

As a result, Dassault never attempted to build another commercial airliner. The 737 reigned supreme in its segment, outliving the DC-9 and its variants. The Mercure's story didn't end, however. The 11 jets that did enter service flew from 1974 until their retirement in 1995. In 21 years, the Mercure fleet flew 44 million passengers, 440,000 flights, 360,000 flight hours, and retired with a spotless safety record and near perfect service reliability. Although the Mercure was the forgotten hope of Dassault Aerospace, the little jet that didn't, the examples that were produced had long, trouble-free, albeit obscure careers.

(The DC-9 on the top left is in a vintage Scandinavian Airlines livery while the 737 below him wears a Southwest Airlines livery. The Mercure has the simple Air Inter livery. The only livery the Mercure fleet ever knew.)