List of airlines by foundation date
This is a list of airlines by foundation date, founded before December 31, 1930.
The date of the first airline service may differ from the foundation date. Bold names and a light-green background indicate that the airline is still in operation, while light-yellow indicates a disputed claim.
| Airline | Established | Ceased operations | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DELAG | November 16, 1909 | March 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 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 | First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer | |
| Aircraft Transport and Travel | October 5, 1916 | February 20, 1921 | Services started 25 August 1919; first scheduled daily international commercial air service, London to Paris. A subsidiary of Airco, its assets were used to create Daimler Airway. Despite numerous takeovers and mergers, British Airways can trace part of its legacy back to Aircraft Transport and Travel. | |
| Chalk's Ocean Airways | 1917 | 2007 | Started scheduled service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919; Became 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 | Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946. | |
| Société des lignes Latécoère | December 25, 1918 | September 19, 1933 | Services started December 25, 1918; rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927; its assets were incorporated into Air France in 1933 | |
| Svensk Lufttrafik | February 7, 1919 | 1921 | Services started 7 August 1920 | |
| Lignes Aériennes Farman | February 8, 1919 | October 7, 1933 | Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |
| Société Générale des Transports Aériens | February 8, 1919 | October 8, 1933 | Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |
| Grands Express Aériens | March 20, 1919 | January 1, 1923 | Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union. | |
| SNETA | March 31, 1919 | May 23, 1923 | Merged into Sabena. | |
| Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes | April 18, 1919 | January 1, 1923 | Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union. | |
| Daimler Airway | June 7, 1919 | April 1, 1924 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |
| Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea – CCNA | September 26, 1919 | July 17, 1922 | First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government. | |
| KLM | October 7, 1919 | Still in operation | 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. Merged with Air France in 2004 to form Air France–KLM. The airline is the "Oldest operating airline". | |
| SCADTA | December 5, 1919 | June 14, 1940
Still in operation |
American concern during World War II over the German shares of the airline (as it was founded by Germans and Colombians), forced SCADTA to merge in 1940 with the smaller state-owned SACO to form Avianca – making it thereby the de facto "Second oldest airline by foundation date", though the claim remains contentious. | |
| Handley Page Transport | 1919 | March 31, 1924 | Merged with 3 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 | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |
| A/S Aero | January 1920 | 1921 | Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik | |
| CFRNA | January 20, 1920 | October 7, 1933 | / | Renamed CIDNA in 1925; the French arm was merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France; the Romanian arm was renamed LARES. |
| Qantas | November 16, 1920 | Still in operation | 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. The airline is the "Oldest continually operating under original name and ownership, unmerged", world "Third oldest airline by foundation date" and the "Oldest airline in the English-speaking 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. | |
| 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 | Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France. | |
| Aeroflot | February 3, 1923 | Still in operation | / | Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932. |
| 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 3 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. |
| Finnair | November 1, 1923 | Still in operation | Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968. | |
| Florida Airways | 1923 | 1927 | ||
| Ukrpovitroshliakh | June 1, 1923 | 1929 | Merged with Zakavia and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot. | |
| Zakavia | 1923 | 1929 | Merged with Ukrvozdukhput and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot. | |
| 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. | |
| Tajik Air | September 3, 1924 | Still in operation | / | Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991. |
| Imperial Airways | March 31, 1924 | November 24, 1939 | 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. | |
| Delta Air Lines | March 2, 1925 | Still in operation | Founded as Huff Daland Dusters for crop dusting, renamed 'Delta Air Service' in 1928, operated scheduled services from 1928 to 1930 and since 1934. | |
| National Air Transport | May 21, 1925 | 1934 | Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934. | |
| 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 3 other airlines to form Ala Littoria. | |
| Western Airlines | 1925 | April 1, 1987 | Founded as Western Air Express; 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. | |
| 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 | Merged with 3 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 Airlines | April 15, 1926 | Still in operation | ||
| 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 | Merged with Delta Air Lines. | |
| Colonial Air Transport | 1926 | 1930 | 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. | |
| Air Serbia | June 17, 1927 | Still in operation | // / |
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 | Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group (IAG) in January 2011. | |
| Maddux Air Lines | September 22, 1927 | November 16, 1929 | Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA. | |
| Grand Canyon Airlines | October 3, 1927 | Still in operation | 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 | 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. | |
| 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 | 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. | |
| LOT Polish Airlines | December 29, 1928 | Still in operation | Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government; they have since absorbed airlines Aerolot (1922) and Aero (1925). | |
| Hawaiian Airlines | January 30, 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. Since September 18, 2024, Hawaiian Airlines still operates as a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. | |
| LATAM Chile | March 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. 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. | |
| Aeropostal | July 3, 1929 | Still in operation | 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 | ||
| 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 1st 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 | Acquired by American Airlines. | |
| China National Aviation Corporation | August 1, 1930 | July 17, 1952 | / | Merged with CATC to form CAAC Airlines. |
| Aviaarktika | September 1, 1930 | January 3, 1960 | 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