This is a list of airlines by foundation date, founded before December 31, 1929.
The date of the first airline service may differ from the foundation date. Bold names indicate that the airline is still in operation.
| Airline | Established | Ceased operations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DELAG | 01909-11-16November 16, 1909 | 01935-03-21March 21, 1935 | The world's first airline in revenue service. Operated Zeppelin airships. Merged with Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) in 1935, which continued transatlantic flights until the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Company dissolved in 1940. |
| St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line | 01913-01-011913 | 01914-01-011914 | First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer |
| Aero Rt. | 01910-12-22December 22, 1910 | 01920-01-011920 | Merged with Magyar Aeroforgalmi Rt (MAEFORT) |
| Aircraft Transport and Travel | 01916-10-05October 5, 1916 | 01921-01-011921 | The first international scheduled service in 1919. A subsidiary of Airco, its assets were used to create Daimler Airway |
| Chalk's Ocean Airways | 01917-01-011917 | 02007-01-012007 | Became Chalk's International Airlines. |
| Det Danske Luftfartselskab | 01918-10-29October 29, 1918 | 01946-01-011946 | Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946. |
| Société des lignes Latécoère | 01918-12-25December 25, 1918 | 01932-01-011932 | Rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927. In 1933 its assets were incorporated into Air France. |
| Svenska Lufttrafik | 01919-02-07February 7, 1919 | 01921-01-011921 | |
| Lignes Aériennes Farman | 01919-02-08February 8, 1919 | 01933-10-07October 7, 1933 | Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France. |
| Grands Express Aériens | 01919-03-20March 20, 1919 | 01923-01-01January 1, 1923 | Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union. |
| Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes | 01919-04-18April 18, 1919 | 01923-01-01January 1, 1923 | Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union. |
| Daimler Airway | 01919-06-07June 7, 1919 | 01924-01-011924 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. |
| Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea CCNA | 01919-09-26September 26, 1919 | 01921-01-011921 | First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government. |
| KLM | 01919-10-07October 7, 1919 | Still in operation | Operations stopped during World War II apart from the operations in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean. Merged with Air France in 2004. The airline is the "Oldest operating airline", but with the recent merge with Air France (forming the holding company Air France-KLM) some dispute whether KLM should still hold the crown |
| SCADTA | 01919-12-05December 5, 1919 | 01940-06-14June 14, 1940 - However still operates under the name of Avianca. | Merged with SACO to form Avianca on June 14, 1940 (no disruptions, kept providing services under another company name and trademark). |
| Handley Page Transport | 01919-01-011919 | 01924-03-31March 31, 1924 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. |
| Instone Air Line | 01919-01-011919 | 01924-01-011924 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. |
| / Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aérienne | 01920-04-23April 23, 1920 | 01933-01-011933 | Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France. |
| QANTAS | 01920-11-16November 16, 1920 | Still in operation | Dubbed "Oldest continuously operating airline" on the ground that (unlike KLM) it has always been based in one country. |
| Aerotarg | 01921-05-21May 21, 1921 | 01921-01-011921 | Operated only on the route between Warsaw and Poznan |
| Mexicana | 01921-07-12July 12, 1921 | August 28, 2010 | Suspended operations indefinitely. |
| West Australian Airways | 01921-12-05December 5, 1921 | 01936-06-12June 12, 1936 | Became part of Australian National Airways. |
| Aeromarine West Indies Airways | 01921-01-011921 | 01924-01-011924 | |
| Aerolloyd | 01922-09-01September 1922 | 01929-12-29December 29, 1929 | Merged with other privetely-owned airlines in Poland and eventually formed LOT Polish Airlines. |
| Malert | 01922-11-19November 19, 1922 | 01944-01-011944 | Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines. |
| Air Union | 01923-01-01January 1, 1923 | 01933-10-07October 7, 1933 | Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France. |
| / Aeroflot | 01923-02-09February 9, 1923 | Still in operation | |
| SABENA | 01923-05-23May 23, 1923 | 02002-02-01February 2002 | Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines. |
| British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd | 01923-08-01August 1923 | 01924-01-011924 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. |
| Czech Airlines | 01923-10-06October 6, 1923 | Still in operation | Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995. |
| Finnair | 01923-11-01November 1, 1923 | Still in operation | Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968. |
| Zakavia | 01923-01-011923 | 01925-01-011925 | |
| Imperial Airways | 01924-01-011924 | 01939-01-011939 | Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways. |
| AB Aerotransport | 01924-06-02June 2, 1924 | 01950-01-011950 | Formed SAS. |
| Delta Air Lines | 01924-05-30May 30, 1924 | Still in operation | Founded as Huff Daland Dusters, Oldest operating airline in the United States. |
| / Tajik Air | 01924-09-03September 3, 1924 | Still in operation | |
| CIDNA | 01925-01-01January 1, 1925 | 01933-10-07October 7, 1933 | The former company - CFRNA (French-Romanian Company For Air Navigation) was the first international transcontinental company. Incorporated into Air France. |
| Aero | 01925-02-01February 1925 | 01928-12-31December 31, 1928 | Merged with other privetely-owned airlines in Poland and eventually formed LOT Polish Airlines. |
| Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano | 01925-09-15September 15, 1925 | 02007-04-01April 1, 2007 | Airline is going to be replaced with Boliviana de Aviación. |
| Trans World Airlines | 01925-01-011925 | 02001-12-01December 1, 2001 | Merged with American Airlines in 2001. |
| Western Air Express | 01925-01-011925 | 01986-09-09September 9, 1986 | Merged with Delta Air Lines in 1986. |
| Deutsche Luft Hansa | 01926-01-06January 6, 1926 | 01945-01-011945 | Name styles as Deutsche Lufthansa from 1933. Operations suspended following the German defeat in World War II. There is no legal connection to Lufthansa, which was founded in 1953. |
| Western Canadian Airways | 01926-03-01March 1926 | 01930-01-011930 | Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways. |
| Varney Airlines | 01926-04-06April 6, 1926 | 01934-01-011934 | Merged with National Air Transport to form United Airlines following the Air Mail scandal in 1933 and the Air Mail Act of 1934. In 1934 Varney Speed Lines was established becoming Continental Airlines in 1936 when Robert Six took over control. |
| Eastern Air Lines | 01926-04-19April 19, 1926 | 01991-01-18January 18, 1991 | Started Operations in 1926 as (Pitcairn Aviation). Until 1929 changed to "Eastern Air Transport" now Eastern Air Lines until 1991. |
| Northwest Airlines | 01926-01-011926 | 02010-01-31January 31, 2010 | Merged with Delta Air Lines. |
| Colonial Air Transport | 01926-01-011926 | 01930-01-011930 | Formed American Airlines. |
| Pan American World Airways | 01927-03-14March 14, 1927 | 01991-12-04December 4, 1991 | It Start Operations in 1927 as Pan American Airways (PAA). It was found by Juan T. Trippe. It was a former flag carrier of United States. The reason it went Bankrupt in 1991 was due to high fuel prices because of the first Gulf War and 1973 oil crisis, a series of hijackings, no us network until the 1980s, and the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am 103. |
| Varig | 01927-05-07May 7, 1927 | 02006-07-20July 20, 2006 | New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos. |
| // Jat Airways | 01927-07-17July 17, 1927 | Still in operation | formed as Aeroput in 1927, then re-formed as JAT - Jugoslovenski aerotransport in 1947, and then Jat Airways in 2003 |
| Cruzeiro do Sul | 01927-12-01December 1, 1927 | 01993-01-01January 1, 1993 | Founded as Syndicato Condor. Name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943. Merged with Varig. |
| ETA | 01928-08-10August 10, 1928 | 01929-11-16November 16, 1929 | Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties. |
| Faucett Perú | 01928-09-15September 15, 1928 | 01997-01-011997 | The oldest airline in South America and Latin America |
| LOT Polish Airlines | 01929-01-01January 1, 1929 | Still in operation | Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government to replace Aerolloyd, Aero, and Aerotarg. |
| LAN Airlines | 01929-03-05March 5, 1929 | Still in operation | Began as Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica. It took the name Línea Aérea Nacional de Chile (LAN Chile) in 1932. In September 1989, the Chilean government privatized the carrier. |
| Iberia | 01927-06-28June 28, 1927 | Still in operation | Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group in January 2011 |
| Aeropostal | 01929-07-03July 3, 1929 | Still in operation | Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization. |
| / KNILM | 01928-07-16July 16, 1928 | 01947-08-01August 1, 1947 Now operated as Garuda Indonesia | Name changed to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf in 1947. On 28 December 1949, KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf was nationalized by the Indonesian Government, as agreed by both the Indonesian and Dutch governments during the 1949 Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference.Upon the nationalization,it was renamed as Garuda Indonesian Airways, and it remains to this day. |
| / Hawaiian Airlines | 01929-10-06October 6, 1929 | Still in operation | Incorporated January 30, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways. Began service October 6, 1929. Name changed to Hawaiian Airlines October 1, 1941. |
| Panair do Brasil | 01929-10-22October 22, 1929 | 01965-02-16February 16, 1965 | Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Government. |
| Philippine Airlines | 01935-11-14November 14, 1935 | Still in operation | Founded as Philippine Aerial Taxi Company. Name changed to Philippine Airlines after its acquisition. Hailed as the oldest airline in Asia. |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, foundation and/or date:
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
—Janet Frame (b. 1924)
“A full belly to the labourer was, in my opinion, the foundation of public morals and the only source of real public peace.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)
“A preschool child does not emerge from your toddler on a given date or birthday. He becomes a child when he ceases to be a wayward, confusing, unpredictable and often balky person-in-the- making, and becomes a comparatively cooperative, eager-and-easy-to-please real human being—at least 60 per cent of the time.”
—Penelope Leach (20th century)