From Air Atlantique to Atlantic Flight Maintenance

More than a collection of historic aircraft

Atlantic Flight Maintenance is one of the continuing parts of the aviation and engineering story associated with Mike Collett and Air Atlantique. The aircraft may be what people remember, but behind every flying example stood engineers, technical records, specialist tooling and the practical judgement required to maintain machinery long after mainstream support had diminished.

That engineering tradition — preserving knowledge while finding workable solutions for aircraft and engines — remains central to our work today.

Mike Collett and the Air Atlantique story

The roots of the enterprise are generally traced to General Aviation Services in Jersey in 1969. Dakota operations in the 1970s helped establish the Air Atlantique name, as the business developed across freight, passenger services and specialist aviation work.

Mike Collett helped build an aviation operation in which older aircraft were not simply museum pieces: they were working machines with useful roles to perform. The commitment to keeping them operating also helped create the conditions for an extraordinary historic flying collection.

Coventry became the group’s principal base in the mid-1980s. Through the Air Atlantique Historic Flight, later Classic Flight and Classic Air Force, audiences encountered aircraft including the Dakota, Dragon Rapide, Anson, Dove, Twin Pioneer, Vampire, Venom, Meteor, Canberra and Jet Provost. These were aircraft associated with the collection across different periods, not a fleet all airworthy at once.

The engineering that made it possible

Maintaining a diverse historic fleet called for much more than routine servicing. Ageing structures, obsolete components, limited spares and incomplete manufacturing support demanded careful investigation, traceable parts, technical documentation and, where appropriate, engineered replacement solutions.

The engineering work was often less visible than the aircraft themselves, but it was essential to keeping them in use. This is the aspect of the Air Atlantique story that most closely connects with the work of Atlantic Flight Maintenance today.

Independent ownership, enduring expertise

Atlantic Flight Maintenance’s story began within the wider Air Atlantique aviation enterprise established by Mike Collett. As the organisation evolved, its specialist engineering activities continued under Atlantic Flight Maintenance, supporting the maintenance and preservation of historic aircraft and their engines.

In 2018, the business passed into the ownership of Heritage Air Services, associated with Ben Cox, before being acquired in 2025 by Verdin Group Holdings, the private holding company of Chris Bradbury.

Today, Atlantic Flight Maintenance operates as an entirely independent business, continuing its specialist engineering work while developing new capabilities and supporting a growing range of aircraft operators.

Our roots are in Air Atlantique. Our future is our own.