Airlines may be scheduled or charter operators. The first airline was the German airship company DELAG, founded on 16 November 1909.
It was founded on November 16, 1909, with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by The Zeppelin Corporation.
The first fixed-wing scheduled airline was started on January 1, 1914, from St.
Other national airlines, including Italy's Alitalia, have suffered – particularly with the rapid increase of oil prices in early 2008. Finnair, the largest airline of Finland, had no fatal or hull-loss accidents since 1963, and is recognized for its safety. ===United States=== ====Early development==== Tony Jannus conducted the United States' first scheduled commercial airline flight on 1 January 1914 for the St.
The four oldest non-dirigible airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1921), and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines (1923). ===Europe=== ====Beginnings==== The earliest fixed wing airline in Europe was Aircraft Transport and Travel, formed by George Holt Thomas in 1916; via a series of takeovers and mergers, this company is an ancestor of modern-day British Airways.
Another early French airline was the Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes, established in 1919 by Louis-Charles Breguet, offering a mail and freight service between Le Bourget Airport, Paris and Lesquin Airport, Lille. The first German airline to use heavier than air aircraft was Deutsche Luft-Reederei established in 1917 which started operating in February 1919.
In 1920, they were returned to the Royal Air Force. Other British competitors were quick to follow – Handley Page Transport was established in 1919 and used the company's converted wartime Type O/400 bombers with a capacity for 12 passengers, to run a London-Paris passenger service. The first French airline was Société des lignes Latécoère, later known as Aéropostale, which started its first service in late 1918 to Spain.
In 1918, the United States Postal Service won the financial backing of Congress to begin experimenting with air mail service, initially using Curtiss Jenny aircraft that had been procured by the United States Army Air Service.
On 15 July 1919, the company flew a proving flight across the English Channel, despite a lack of support from the British government.
H Shaw in an Airco DH.9 between RAF Hendon and Paris – Le Bourget Airport, the flight took 2 hours and 30 minutes at £21 per passenger. On 25 August 1919, the company used DH.16s to pioneer a regular service from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Le Bourget, the first regular international service in the world.
In November 1919, it won the first British civil airmail contract.
In 1920, they were returned to the Royal Air Force. Other British competitors were quick to follow – Handley Page Transport was established in 1919 and used the company's converted wartime Type O/400 bombers with a capacity for 12 passengers, to run a London-Paris passenger service. The first French airline was Société des lignes Latécoère, later known as Aéropostale, which started its first service in late 1918 to Spain.
The Société Générale des Transports Aériens was created in late 1919, by the Farman brothers and the Farman F.60 Goliath plane flew scheduled services from Toussus-le-Noble to Kenley, near Croydon, England.
Another early French airline was the Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes, established in 1919 by Louis-Charles Breguet, offering a mail and freight service between Le Bourget Airport, Paris and Lesquin Airport, Lille. The first German airline to use heavier than air aircraft was Deutsche Luft-Reederei established in 1917 which started operating in February 1919.
France began an air mail service to Morocco in 1919 that was bought out in 1927, renamed Aéropostale, and injected with capital to become a major international carrier.
Chalk's International Airlines began service between Miami and Bimini in the Bahamas in February 1919.
In 1920, they were returned to the Royal Air Force. Other British competitors were quick to follow – Handley Page Transport was established in 1919 and used the company's converted wartime Type O/400 bombers with a capacity for 12 passengers, to run a London-Paris passenger service. The first French airline was Société des lignes Latécoère, later known as Aéropostale, which started its first service in late 1918 to Spain.
It operated joint-venture airlines in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. The Dutch airline KLM made its first flight in 1920, and is the oldest continuously operating airline in the world.
The relatively basic navigational capabilities of pilots at the time also meant that delays due to the weather were commonplace. ====Rationalization==== By the early 1920s, small airlines were struggling to compete, and there was a movement towards increased rationalization and consolidation.
Some of the carriers that won these routes would, through time and mergers, evolve into Pan Am, Delta Air Lines, Braniff Airways, American Airlines, United Airlines (originally a division of Boeing), Trans World Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines. Service during the early 1920s was sporadic: most airlines at the time were focused on carrying bags of mail.
Pan Am and Northwest Airways (which began flights to Canada in the 1920s) were the only U.S.
Another important German airline was Junkers Luftverkehr, which began operations in 1921.
In 1921, KLM started scheduled services. In Finland, the charter establishing Aero O/Y (now Finnair) was signed in the city of Helsinki on September 12, 1923.
The first flight was between Helsinki and Tallinn, capital of Estonia, and it took place on March 20, 1924, one week later. In the Soviet Union, the Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet was established in 1921.
In 1921, KLM started scheduled services. In Finland, the charter establishing Aero O/Y (now Finnair) was signed in the city of Helsinki on September 12, 1923.
Domestic air service began around the same time, when Dobrolyot started operations on 15 July 1923 between Moscow and Nizhni Novgorod.
In April 1925, the film The Lost World became the first film to be screened for passengers on a scheduled airliner flight when it was shown on the London-Paris route. Two French airlines also merged to form Air Union on 1 January 1923.
It was a division of the aircraft manufacturer Junkers, which became a separate company in 1924.
Junkers F.13 D-335 became the first aircraft of the company, when Aero took delivery of it on March 14, 1924.
The first flight was between Helsinki and Tallinn, capital of Estonia, and it took place on March 20, 1924, one week later. In the Soviet Union, the Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet was established in 1921.
In 1924, Imperial Airways was formed from the merger of Instone Air Line Company, British Marine Air Navigation, Daimler Airway and Handley Page Transport, to allow British airlines to compete with stiff competition from French and German airlines that were enjoying heavy government subsidies.
The airline was a pioneer in surveying and opening up air routes across the world to serve far-flung parts of the British Empire and to enhance trade and integration. The first new airliner ordered by Imperial Airways, was the Handley Page W8f City of Washington, delivered on 3 November 1924.
In April 1925, the film The Lost World became the first film to be screened for passengers on a scheduled airliner flight when it was shown on the London-Paris route. Two French airlines also merged to form Air Union on 1 January 1923.
In 1925, however, the Ford Motor Company bought out the Stout Aircraft Company and began construction of the all-metal Ford Trimotor, which became the first successful American airliner.
This later merged with four other French airlines to become Air France, the country's flagship carrier to this day, on 17 May 1933. Germany's Deutsche Luft Hansa was created in 1926 by merger of two airlines, one of them Junkers Luftverkehr.
German airliners built by Junkers, Dornier, and Fokker were among the most advanced in the world at the time. ====Expansion==== In 1926, Alan Cobham surveyed a flight route from the UK to Cape Town, South Africa, following this up with another proving flight to Melbourne, Australia.
Regular services to Cairo and Basra began in 1927 and were extended to Karachi in 1929.
France began an air mail service to Morocco in 1919 that was bought out in 1927, renamed Aéropostale, and injected with capital to become a major international carrier.
Regular services to Cairo and Basra began in 1927 and were extended to Karachi in 1929.
The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1920) and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines (1923). Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s.
Only about 50,000 passengers used Imperial Airways in the 1930s.
This was the first time an airline flew across an ocean. By the end of the 1930s Aeroflot had become the world's largest airline, employing more than 4,000 pilots and 60,000 other service personnel and operating around 3,000 aircraft (of which 75% were considered obsolete by its own standards).
airlines to go international before the 1940s. With the introduction of the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-3 in the 1930s, the U.S.
Bachrach on December 3, 1930, making it Asia's oldest scheduled carrier still in operation.
In 1931, the airship Graf Zeppelin began offering regular scheduled passenger service between Germany and South America, usually every two weeks, which continued until 1937.
Since 1932 all operations had been carried under the name Aeroflot. Early European airlines tended to favor comfort – the passenger cabins were often spacious with luxurious interiors – over speed and efficiency.
The London-Australia service was inaugurated in 1932 with the Handley Page HP 42 airliners.
One of the first Asian airline companies was Air India, which was founded as Tata Airlines in 1932, a division of Tata Sons Ltd.
On October 15, 1932, J.
This later merged with four other French airlines to become Air France, the country's flagship carrier to this day, on 17 May 1933. Germany's Deutsche Luft Hansa was created in 1926 by merger of two airlines, one of them Junkers Luftverkehr.
In 1933, Aéropostale went bankrupt, was nationalized and merged into Air France. Although Germany lacked colonies, it also began expanding its services globally.
In 1938, a weekly air service from Berlin to Kabul, Afghanistan, started operating. From February 1934 until World War II began in 1939 Deutsche Lufthansa operated an airmail service from Stuttgart, Germany via Spain, the Canary Islands and West Africa to Natal in Brazil.
Further services were opened up to Calcutta, Rangoon, Singapore, Brisbane and Hong Kong passengers departed London on 14 March 1936 following the establishment of a branch from Penang to Hong Kong. Imperial's aircraft were small, most seating fewer than twenty passengers, and catered for the rich.
In 1936, the airship Hindenburg entered passenger service and successfully crossed the Atlantic 36 times before crashing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937.
In 1931, the airship Graf Zeppelin began offering regular scheduled passenger service between Germany and South America, usually every two weeks, which continued until 1937.
In 1936, the airship Hindenburg entered passenger service and successfully crossed the Atlantic 36 times before crashing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937.
Bachrach's death in 1937 paved the way for its eventual merger with Philippine Airlines in March 1941 and made it Asia's oldest airline.
In 1938, a weekly air service from Berlin to Kabul, Afghanistan, started operating. From February 1934 until World War II began in 1939 Deutsche Lufthansa operated an airmail service from Stuttgart, Germany via Spain, the Canary Islands and West Africa to Natal in Brazil.
In 1938, a weekly air service from Berlin to Kabul, Afghanistan, started operating. From February 1934 until World War II began in 1939 Deutsche Lufthansa operated an airmail service from Stuttgart, Germany via Spain, the Canary Islands and West Africa to Natal in Brazil.
Soriano in 1939 upon the advice of General Douglas MacArthur and later merged with newly formed Philippine Airlines with PAL as the surviving entity.
The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1920) and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines (1923). Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s.
airlines to go international before the 1940s. With the introduction of the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-3 in the 1930s, the U.S.
passenger market. ===Asia=== Although Philippine Airlines (PAL) was officially founded on February 26, 1941, its license to operate as an airliner was derived from merged Philippine Aerial Taxi Company (PATCO) established by mining magnate Emmanuel N.
Bachrach's death in 1937 paved the way for its eventual merger with Philippine Airlines in March 1941 and made it Asia's oldest airline.
PAL restarted service on March 15, 1941, with a single Beech Model 18 NPC-54 aircraft, which started its daily services between Manila (from Nielson Field) and Baguio, later to expand with larger aircraft such as the DC-3 and Vickers Viscount. Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to be launched among the other Asian countries in 1946 along with Asiana Airlines, which later joined in 1988.
This trend continued until the beginning of World War II. ====Since 1945==== World War II, like World War I, brought new life to the airline industry.
Following the end of the war in 1945, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on July 29, 1946, under the name Air India.
PAL restarted service on March 15, 1941, with a single Beech Model 18 NPC-54 aircraft, which started its daily services between Manila (from Nielson Field) and Baguio, later to expand with larger aircraft such as the DC-3 and Vickers Viscount. Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to be launched among the other Asian countries in 1946 along with Asiana Airlines, which later joined in 1988.
Following the end of the war in 1945, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on July 29, 1946, under the name Air India.
In return, the airline was granted status to operate international services from India as the designated flag carrier under the name Air India International. On July 31, 1946, a chartered Philippine Airlines (PAL) DC-4 ferried 40 American servicemen to Oakland, California, from Nielson Airport in Makati with stops in Guam, Wake Island, Johnston Atoll and Honolulu, Hawaii, making PAL the first Asian airline to cross the Pacific Ocean.
Most offered increased efficiency from both added speed and greater payload. In the 1950s, the De Havilland Comet, Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, and Sud Aviation Caravelle became the first flagships of the Jet Age in the West, while the Eastern bloc had Tupolev Tu-104 and Tupolev Tu-124 in the fleets of state-owned carriers such as Czechoslovak ČSA, Soviet Aeroflot and East-German Interflug.
It became the first airline in the world to operate sustained regular jet services on 15 September 1956 with the Tupolev Tu-104. ====Deregulation==== Deregulation of the European Union airspace in the early 1990s has had substantial effect on the structure of the industry there.
An early example of this was Japan Airlines' (JAL) codesharing partnership with Aeroflot in the 1960s on Tokyo–Moscow flights; Aeroflot operated the flights using Aeroflot aircraft, but JAL sold tickets for the flights as if they were JAL flights.
Other national airlines, including Italy's Alitalia, have suffered – particularly with the rapid increase of oil prices in early 2008. Finnair, the largest airline of Finland, had no fatal or hull-loss accidents since 1963, and is recognized for its safety. ===United States=== ====Early development==== Tony Jannus conducted the United States' first scheduled commercial airline flight on 1 January 1914 for the St.
Concorde first flew in 1969 and operated through 2003.
In 1972, Airbus began producing Europe's most commercially successful line of airliners to date.
Airbus also features modern electronic cockpits that were common across their aircraft to enable pilots to fly multiple models with minimal cross-training. ====Deregulation==== The 1978 U.S.
Since deregulation in 1978 the average domestic ticket price has dropped by 40%.
However, of these, ATA and Skybus have since ceased operations. Increasingly since 1978, US airlines have been reincorporated and spun off by newly created and internally led management companies, and thus becoming nothing more than operating units and subsidiaries with limited financially decisive control.
As the first major market to deregulate the industry in 1978, U.S.
The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1920) and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines (1923). Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s.
Since the 1980s, there has also been a trend of major airline mergers and the formation of airline alliances.
PAL restarted service on March 15, 1941, with a single Beech Model 18 NPC-54 aircraft, which started its daily services between Manila (from Nielson Field) and Baguio, later to expand with larger aircraft such as the DC-3 and Vickers Viscount. Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to be launched among the other Asian countries in 1946 along with Asiana Airlines, which later joined in 1988.
It became the first airline in the world to operate sustained regular jet services on 15 September 1956 with the Tupolev Tu-104. ====Deregulation==== Deregulation of the European Union airspace in the early 1990s has had substantial effect on the structure of the industry there.
Most agreements permit airlines to fly from their home country to designated airports in the other country: some also extend the freedom to provide continuing service to a third country, or to another destination in the other country while carrying passengers from overseas. In the 1990s, "open skies" agreements became more common.
Thus the primary rationale for code sharing is to expand one's service offerings in city-pair terms to increase sales. A more recent development is the airline alliance, which became prevalent in the late 1990s.
Southwest is credited with maintaining strong business profits between 1999 and the early 2000s due to its fuel hedging policy.
Between 2000 and 2005 US airlines lost $30 billion with wage cuts of over $15 billion and 100,000 employees laid off. In recognition of the essential national economic role of a healthy aviation system, Congress authorized partial compensation of up to $5 billion in cash subject to review by the U.S.
Korean Air is one of the four founders of SkyTeam, which was established in 2000.
Southwest is credited with maintaining strong business profits between 1999 and the early 2000s due to its fuel hedging policy.
While hedging instruments can be expensive, they can easily pay for themselves many times over in periods of increasing fuel costs, such as in the 2000–2005 period. In view of the congestion apparent at many international airports, the ownership of slots at certain airports (the right to take-off or land an aircraft at a particular time of day or night) has become a significant tradable asset for many airlines.
Through the ATSB Congress sought to provide cash infusions to carriers for both the cost of the four-day federal shutdown of the airlines and the incremental losses incurred through December 31, 2001, as a result of the terrorist attacks.
Concorde first flew in 1969 and operated through 2003.
Asiana Airlines joined Star Alliance in 2003.
Both airlines later entered the SkyTeam alliance after the fusion of KLM and Air France in 2004. Often the companies combine IT operations, or purchase fuel and aircraft as a bloc to achieve higher bargaining power.
Between 2000 and 2005 US airlines lost $30 billion with wage cuts of over $15 billion and 100,000 employees laid off. In recognition of the essential national economic role of a healthy aviation system, Congress authorized partial compensation of up to $5 billion in cash subject to review by the U.S.
Other national airlines, including Italy's Alitalia, have suffered – particularly with the rapid increase of oil prices in early 2008. Finnair, the largest airline of Finland, had no fatal or hull-loss accidents since 1963, and is recognized for its safety. ===United States=== ====Early development==== Tony Jannus conducted the United States' first scheduled commercial airline flight on 1 January 1914 for the St.
Lauderdale, Chalk's claimed to be the oldest continuously operating airline in the United States until its closure in 2008. Following World War I, the United States found itself swamped with aviators.
The largest alliances are Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld, and these three collectively accounted for more than 60% of global commercial air traffic in 2015.
Because of industry consolidation, after fuel prices dropped considerably in 2015, very little of the savings were passed on to consumers. ===International=== Groups such as the International Civil Aviation Organization establish worldwide standards for safety and other vital concerns.
Open skies agreements have met some criticism, particularly within the European Union, whose airlines would be at a comparative disadvantage with the United States' because of cabotage restrictions. ==Economy== In 2017, 4.1 billion passengers have been carried by airlines in 41.9 million commercial scheduled flights (an average payload of passengers), for 7.75 trillion passenger kilometres (an average trip of km) over 45,091 airline routes served globally.
This is especially crucial during tough economic times as airlines undertake massive cuts to ticket prices to retain demand. Over January/February 2018, the cheapest airline surveyed by price comparator rome2rio was now-defunct Tigerair Australia with $0.06/km followed by AirAsia X with $0.07/km, while the most expensive was Charterlines, Inc.
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