This is a list of airlines by foundation date of the company. The list includes airlines founded before December 31, 1930.
Rows with a light-green background indicate the earliest predecessor company of an airline that is still operating as a parent company or a subsidiary company (many modern airline holding companies operate more than one airline). Of the airlines still operating, Air France has the oldest predecessor company, Compagnie générale transaérienne, which was established in 1909 and began scheduled fixed-wing passenger operations in 1913. Another Air France predecessor, Lignes Aériennes Farman, began the first regular international passenger operations in 1919. KLM is the oldest airline still operating under its original name, Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij, under which it was established in 1919 and began operating the following year.
The date of the first airline service may differ from the foundation date of the company.
| Airline | Country | Established | Ceased operations, acquired or merged | Corporate successor still operating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compagnie générale transaérienne | October 10, 1909 | February 1921 | Air France | Began weekly return flights for mail and other cargo items in April 1911 between London and Paris. On March 22, 1913, GGT started the world's first scheduled passenger-carrying fixed-wing flights within France and a week later to Monte Carlo. It was the first French airline and was absorbed by Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes in 1921, making it the first of the companies that would eventually merge to become Air France. It is the oldest corporate predecessor of all airlines still operating. | |
| DELAG | / | November 16, 1909 | March 21, 1935 | The world’s first passenger and commercial airline, beginning services in June 1910. 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 and re-established in 2001. | |
| Aero Rt. | December 22, 1910 | 1920 | Merged with Magyar Aeroforgalmi Rt (MAEFORT) which in turn, merged with Magyar Legiforgalmi R.T. (MALERT) to form Maszovlet. Later Hungary acquired all the Soviet shares of Maszovlet and renamed it to Malév Hungarian Airlines. | ||
| St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line | 1913 | May 5, 1914 | Fixed-wing scheduled passenger commercial aviation service, first in the United States. | ||
| Aircraft Transport and Travel | October 5, 1916 | February 25, 1921 | British Airways | British Airways' earliest predecessor company is Aircraft Transport and Travel (AT&T), which began services with the world's first daily scheduled commercial aviation service on August 25, 1919, an international flight from London to Paris. Its assets were used to create Daimler Airway, which continued its services. Through numerous takeovers and mergers, it became a part of British Airways making BA the operating airline with the second oldest predecessor. British Airways merged with Iberia to form International Airlines Group (IAG) on January 21, 2011 and remains in operation as a subsidiary company. | |
| Red Arrow Flying Service | 1917 | 2007 | As Chalk's Flying Service, the company claimed to have begun a scheduled international service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919. Later renamed Chalk's Ocean Airways and then Chalk's International Airlines. | ||
| Deutsche Luft-Reederei | / | December 1917 | 1923 | Services started February 5, 1919. Became part of Deutscher Aero Lloyd in 1923, merged into Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926. Founding member of International Air Traffic Association in 1919. | |
| Det Norske Luftfartsrederi | 1918 | 1921 | Founding member of IATA | ||
| Det Danske Luftfartselskab | October 29, 1918 | 1951 | SAS | Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946. It is the third oldest operating airline through its predecessor companies. | |
| Société des lignes Latécoère | December 25, 1918 | October 7, 1933 | Air France | Began operations in 1924. It was rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927 and then incorporated into Air France on October 7, 1933. Air France merged with KLM in 2004 to form Air France–KLM and remains in operation as a subsidiary company. | |
| Svensk Lufttrafik | February 7, 1919 | 1921 | Services started 7 August 1920 | ||
| Lignes Aériennes Farman | February 8, 1919 | October 7, 1933 | Air France | Began a weekly service between Paris and Brussels on March 22, 1919, the world's first international commercial aviation service. Renamed Société Générale des Transports Aériens. Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |
| Grands Express Aériens | March 20, 1919 | January 1, 1923 | Air France | Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union. | |
| SNETA | March 31, 1919 | May 23, 1923 | Brussels Airlines | Merged into Sabena; operations transferred to Delta Air Transport, which later became SN Brussels Airlines; merged with Virgin Express to form Brussels Airlines. It is the fourth oldest operating airline through its predecessor companies. | |
| Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes | April 18, 1919 | January 1, 1923 | Air France | Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union. | |
| Daimler Air Hire | June 7, 1919 | April, 1921 | British Airways | A charter airline; added scheduled services in 1921 after merger with Aircraft Transport and Travel to create Daimler Airway. | |
| Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea – CCNA | September 26, 1919 | July 17, 1922 | First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government. | ||
| Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij | October 7, 1919 | Still in operation | KLM | KLM was established under the name Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij by a group of Dutch businessmen and bankers with the support of the Dutch government. The first KLM flight took place on May 17, 1920. During World War II, KLM stopped operating in Europe, but continued in the West Indies as Dutch Caribbean colonies were not occupied by Nazi Germany. After the war, the government took a majority stake, effectively nationalising the airline during that period. KLM merged with Air France in 2004 to form Air France–KLM and remains in operation as a subsidiary company. It is the fifth oldest airline still in operation when considering predecessor companies. It markets itself as the oldest airline still operating under its original name. | |
| SCADTA | December 5, 1919 | June 14, 1940 | Avianca | Founded as SCADTA in 1919 by Germans and Colombians. American concern during World War II over the German shares of the airline forced SCADTA to merge in 1940 with the smaller state-owned SACO to form Avianca. Avianca spent over a year in Chapter 11 bankruptcy during 2020–21. It the sixth oldest airline still operating by date of foundation of its predecessor. In its past corporate marketing, it has claimed to be the second oldest airline in the world. | |
| Handley Page Transport | 1919 | March 31, 1924 | British Airways | Merged with three other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |
| Handley Page Indo-Burmese transport | 1919 | 1921 | First airline in India (then under British rule). | ||
| Instone Air Line | 1919 | March 31, 1924 | British Airways | Merged with three other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |
| A/S Aero | January 1920 | 1921 | Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik | ||
| CFRNA | / | January 20, 1920 | October 7, 1933 | Air France | Renamed CIDNA in 1925; the French arm was merged with four other airlines to form Air France; the Romanian arm was renamed LARES. |
| Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services | November 16, 1920 | October 2, 1947 | Qantas | Qantas was originally established as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS). During World War II, most aircraft were used by the RAAF, however limited operations continued within Australia, to/from Singapore and on the Australia-England route. QANTAS was liquidated on 2 October 1947, after the airline was nationalised. The current parent entity is Qantas Airways Limited, which was incorporated in 1967. It is the seventh oldest still-active airline by foundation date when considering predecessor companies. In its marketing, it claims to be the world's second oldest airline, and has claimed to be the "oldest continuously operating airline in the world". | |
| Aeronaut | March 22, 1921 | January 11, 1927 | Operated the routes: Tallinn-Helsinki, Tallinn-Stockholm, Tallinn-Riga-Königsberg and Tallinn-Tartu-Viljandi-Pärnu. Stopped operations in 1927 due to financial problems. | ||
| Aerotarg | May 10, 1921 | June 19, 1921 | Operated only on the route between Poznań–Warsaw and Poznań–Gdańsk, mainly in order to serve participants and visitors of the first Poznań International Fair. | ||
| Daimler Airway | April, 1921 | April 1, 1924 | British Airways | Daimler Air Hire was combined with the assets of Aircraft Transport and Travel in 1921 to create Daimler Airway. Merged with three other airlines in 1924 to form Imperial Airways. | |
| Mexicana de Aviación | July 12, 1921 | August 28, 2010 | Suspended operations indefinitely. MRO still operational. Brand was revived during 2023. | ||
| Deruluft | / | November 24, 1921 | March 31, 1937 | Joint German-Soviet airline. | |
| West Australian Airways | December 5, 1921 | June 12, 1936 | Became part of Australian National Airways. | ||
| Aeromarine West Indies Airways | 1921 | 1924 | Services started 1 November 1920; first U.S. international air service | ||
| Junkers Luftverkehr | 1921 | 1926 | A division of the aircraft manufacturer Junkers; became a separate company in 1924; merged into Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926; joint-ventures with airlines in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland | ||
| Beijing-Han Airlines | March 29, 1922 | March 31, 1922 | Founded by warlord Cao Kun with a single Handley Page aircraft, likely a modified HP O/400; fatally crashed in Beijing 3 days later. | ||
| Aerolloyd | June 3, 1922 | December 28, 1929 | Name changed to Aerolot in 1925; merged with other privately owned airlines in Poland formed LOT Polish Airlines. | ||
| Latvijas gaisa satiksme AS | July 31, 1922 | 1928 | Operated in 1923-1926. With hub in Spilve airport, Riga it served Tallinn-Riga-Kaunas (for some time-Klaipėda)-Koenigsberg route in cooperation with Junkers Luftverkehr AG and Aeronaut. Went bankrupt in 1926, liquidated in 1928. | ||
| Malert | November 19, 1922 | 1944 | Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines. | ||
| Air Union | January 1, 1923 | October 7, 1933 | Air France | Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |
| Dobrolyot | / | February 3, 1923 | Still in operation | Aeroflot | Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932. The company has undergone significant changes in its corporate structure since its foundation. |
| SABENA | May 23, 1923 | February 2002 | Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines, which became Brussels Airlines. MRO still operational. | ||
| British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd | August 1923 | March 31, 1924 | Merged with three other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | ||
| Czech Airlines | / | October 6, 1923 | October 26, 2024 | Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995. | |
| Aero | November 1, 1923 | Still in operation | Finnair | Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968. | |
| Florida Airways | 1923 | 1927 | |||
| Ukrpovitroshliakh | June 1, 1923 | 1929 | Aeroflot | Merged into Dobrolyot. | |
| Zakavia | 1923 | 1925 | Aeroflot | Merged into Ukrvozdukhput. | |
| Condor Syndikat | / | May 5, 1924 | July 1, 1927 | German-based Brazilian airline; absorbed into Deutsche Luft Hansa | |
| AB Aerotransport | June 2, 1924 | October 1, 1950 | Formed SAS. | ||
| Tajikistan division of Aeroflot | / | September 3, 1924 | Still in operation | Tajik Air | Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991. |
| Imperial Airways | March 31, 1924 | November 24, 1939 | British Airways | Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways. | |
| Slov-Air | / | 1924 | 2001 | Founded as a department of Bata Shoes; name changed to Svitlet in 1948, to Agrolet in 1950 (became part of CSA, became independent in 1955), and to Slov-Air in 1969. | |
| Aero | February 1925 | December 28, 1929 | Merged with Aerolot, formed LOT Polish Airlines. | ||
| Ryan Airline Company | April 19, 1925 | 1926 | Name changed to B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation. | ||
| National Air Transport | May 21, 1925 | 1934 | United Airlines | Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934. | |
| Western Air Express | July 1925 | April 1, 1987 | Delta Air Lines | Founded as Western Air Express, which commenced operations April 17, 1926; merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Transcontinental & Western Air in 1930; severed from T & WA again in 1934; named changed to General Air Lines and back to Western Air Express in 1934, and to Western Airlines in 1941; merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987. Los Angeles-San Diego Air Line started service in 1925 with Ryan modified Davis-Douglas Cloudster. | |
| Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano | September 15, 1925 | 2010 | Former flag carrier of Bolivia; replaced by Boliviana de Aviación. | ||
| Unión Aérea Española | 1925 | 1929 | Merged with Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas following Wall Street Crash of 1929. | ||
| Ford Air Transport Service | 1925 | 1932 | The world's first regularly scheduled commercial cargo airline. | ||
| Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea | 1925 | 1934 | Merged with three other airlines to form Ala Littoria. | ||
| Pacific Air Transport | January 1926 | December 17, 1928 | Merged into Boeing Air Transport, but continued to operate as a separate division until 1934. | ||
| Deutsche Luft Hansa | / | January 6, 1926 | April 22, 1945 | 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 | March 1926 | 1930 | Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways. | ||
| Varney Air Lines | April 6, 1926 | May 1934 | United Airlines | Began passenger service on April 6, 1926. Merged with three other airlines 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. | |
| American Airways | April 15, 1926 | Still in operation | American Airlines | ||
| Eastern Air Lines | April 19, 1926 | January 17, 1991 | Started Operations in 1926 as Pitcairn Aviation. Until 1930 changed to "Eastern Air Transport" then Eastern Air Lines until 1991. Re-established in 2015 until 2017. Brand relaunched again in 2018. | ||
| Northwest Airlines | September 10, 1926 | January 31, 2010 | Delta Air Lines | Merged with Delta Air Lines. | |
| Colonial Air Transport | 1926 | 1930 | American Airlines | Formed American Airlines. | |
| Pan American World Airways | March 14, 1927 | December 4, 1991 | Founded by Juan T. Trippe and began operations in 1927 as Pan American Airways (PAA). Former de facto flag carrier of United States. Bankrupted in 1991 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; the Lockerbie bombing of flight 103. | ||
| Varig | May 7, 1927 | July 20, 2006 | New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos. | ||
| Aeroput | // / | June 17, 1927 | 24 December 1948 | Air Serbia | Formed as Aeroput in 1927, then re-formed as JAT - Jugoslovenski aerotransport in 1947, rebranded as Jat Airways in 2003, and then as Air Serbia in 2013. |
| Iberia | June 28, 1927 | Still in operation | Iberia | Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group (IAG) in January 2011 and remains in operation as a subsidiary company. | |
| Maddux Air Lines | September 22, 1927 | November 16, 1929 | Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA. | ||
| Scenic Airways | October 3, 1927 | Still in operation | Grand Canyon Airlines | Founded as Scenic Airways; name changed to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930. | |
| Bunavad | October 25, 1927 | 1930 | First national airline of Bulgaria. | ||
| Cruzeiro do Sul | December 1, 1927 | January 1, 1993 | Founded as Syndicato Condor; name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943; merged with Varig in 1993. | ||
| Standard Air Lines | 1927 | March 1930 | Sold off to Western Air Express, itself merged to form T & WA. | ||
| National Parks Airways | 1927 | 1937 | Bought out by Western Air Express. | ||
| Wien Air Alaska | 1927 | November 23, 1984 | First airline in Alaska. | ||
| MacRobertson Miller Airlines | 1927 | 1993 | Absorbed into Ansett. | ||
| Paul R. Braniff, Inc. | May 29, 1928 | March 1929 | First Braniff brothers airline entity that operated scheduled service between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Forerunner of Braniff Airways and then became Braniff Air Lines, Inc., and later Braniff Airways, Inc. in November 1930. | ||
| KNILM | / | July 16, 1928 | August 1, 1947 | First operated as KNILM. KNILM dissolved and transferred to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (today Garuda Indonesia) | |
| Universal Air Lines | July 30, 1928 | 1934 | American Airlines | Merged with other companies to form American Airlines. | |
| ETA | August 10, 1928 | November 16, 1929 | Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties. | ||
| British Columbia Airways | August 16, 1928 | August 25, 1928 | Had a single Ford 4-AT Trimotor which crashed. | ||
| Faucett Perú | September 15, 1928 | December 3, 1997 | |||
| Japan Air Transport | October 28, 1928 | 1938 | Merged into Imperial Japanese Airways. | ||
| Delta Air Service | December 3, 1928 | 1930 | Delta Air Lines | Founded as an aircraft manufacture, Ogdensburg Aeroway Corp, in 1920, became Huff Daland Dusters for crop dusting in 1925 (not an airline). Acquired and became an airline, 'Delta Air Service' in 1928. Passenger operations began on June 17, 1929, and continued until October 1930. Restarted as Delta Air Lines in 1934. | |
| Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT | December 29, 1928 | Still in operation | LOT Polish Airlines | Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government; they have since absorbed airlines Aerolot (1922) and Aero (1925). | |
| Mid-Continent Airlines | 1928 | August 26, 1952 | Founded as Hanford's Tri-State Airlines; name changed to Mid-Continent Airlines in 1938; merged into Braniff International Airways in 1952. | ||
| Transcontinental Air Transport | 1928 | 1930 | American Airlines | Merged with Western Air Express to form Transcontinental & Western Air (T & WA) in 1930; renamed Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1950; merged into American Airlines in 2001. | |
| Inter-Island Airways | January 30, 1929 | Still in operation | Hawaiian Airlines | Incorporated January 30, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways. Began service October 6, 1929. Name changed to Hawaiian Airlines October 1, 1941. Merged with Alaska Airlines on September 18, 2024, Hawaiian Airlines still operates as a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. | |
| Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica | March 5, 1929 | Still in operation | LATAM Chile | 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. LAN Chile became LAN Airlines in 2004 but in 2010, LAN merged with TAM Airlines and became LATAM Airlines. LAN Airlines still operates under the name LATAM Chile as a subsidiary of LATAM Airlines Group. | |
| CLASSA – Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas | May 13, 1929 | July 18, 1936 | Ceased operations due to the Spanish Civil War. | ||
| Linea Aeropostal Venezolana | July 3, 1929 | August 1994 | Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela | Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV. Name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization. | |
| Pan American-Grace Airways | September 13, 1929 | February 1, 1969 | Joint venture between Pan American Airways and W.R. Grace; merged into Braniff in 1969. | ||
| Cubana de Aviación | October 8, 1929 | Still in operation | Cubana de Aviación | ||
| Panair do Brasil | October 22, 1929 | February 16, 1965 | Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Militar Dictatorship Government. | ||
| Wiggins Airways | 1929 | June 1, 2024 | Purchased by Ameriflight in 2014, it was formally made a division of Ameriflight on June 1 2024. | ||
| Union Airways | July 24, 1929 | January 31, 1934 | First South African airline; taken over by the government and renamed South African Airways. | ||
| Australian National Airways | 1929 | 1931 | |||
| Trans World Airlines | July 16, 1930 | December 1, 2001 | American Airlines | Acquired by American Airlines. | |
| China National Aviation Corporation | / | August 1, 1930 | July 17, 1952 | Air China | Merged with CATC to form CAAC Airlines. |
| Aviaarktika | September 1, 1930 | January 3, 1960 | Aeroflot | Absorbed into Aeroflot. | |
| Braniff International Airways | November 13, 1930 | May 12/May 13, 1982 | |||
| New England & Western Air Transportation Co. | 1930 | 1930 | |||
| South West African Airways | 1930 | 1935 | First commercial air service in South West Africa (Namibia) |
For airlines founded after 1930 see Category: Airlines by year of establishment
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