The airline was established in 1973 and started operations in 1975. It was founded to provide services for business executives from western France, and introduced regular flights to London Gatwick in 1979. On 1 December 1995, Brit Air signed a franchising agreement with Air France Europe. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Air France in October 2000. It employs 1,260 staff.

Since 31 March 2013, all Brit Air flights are operated under HOP! name, the new Air France's regional brand name.

In March 2013, the Brit Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 5.5 years:

Over the years, the airline has operated various aircraft types including:

On 22 June 2003, Air France Flight 5672() from Nantes to Brest, which was operated by a Brit Air CRJ100, crashed 2.3 miles short of the runway when attempting to land at Brest Bretagne Airport at 23:55 local time, resulting in the death of the captain. The aircraft involved (registered F-GRJS) subsequently caught fire (after all 21 passengers on board had been evacuated) and was damaged beyond repair. The most probable cause of the accident was declared to be pilot error, as the instrument approach had not been executed correctly.

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