List of airlines by foundation date

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.

Airline Established Ceased operations Notes
St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line 01913 1913 01914 1914 First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer
Aero Rt. 01910-12-22 December 22, 1910 01920 1920 Merged with Magyar Aeroforgalmi Rt (MAEFORT)
DELAG 01909-11-16 November 16, 1909 01935 1935 Operated Zeppelins, aircraft taken over by state-sponsored airline.
Aircraft Transport and Travel 01916-10-05 October 5, 1916 01921 1921 The first international scheduled service in 1919.
Chalk's Ocean Airways 01917 1917 02007 2007 Became Chalk's International Airlines.
Det Danske Luftfartselskab 01918-10-29 October 29, 1918 01946 1946 Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946.
Société des lignes Latécoère 01918-12-25 December 25, 1918 01932 1932 Rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927. In 1933 its assets were incorporated into Air France.
Svenska Lufttrafik 01919-02-07 February 7, 1919 01921 1921
Lignes Aériennes Farman 01919-02-08 February 8, 1919 01933-10-07 October 7, 1933 Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
Grands Express Aériens 01919-03-20 March 20, 1919 01923-01-01 January 1, 1923 Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union.
Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes 01919-04-18 April 18, 1919 01923-01-01 January 1, 1923 Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union.
Daimler Airway 01919-06-07 June 7, 1919 01924 1924 Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
KLM 01919-10-07 October 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. Currently the oldest airline to exist.
SCADTA 01919-12-05 December 5, 1919 01940-06-14 June 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 1919 01924-03-31 March 31, 1924 Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Instone Air Line 01919 1919 01924 1924 Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
/ Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aérienne 01920-04-23 April 23, 1920 01933 1933 Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
Qantas 01920-11-16 November 16, 1920 Still in operation World's oldest continuously operating airline.
Aerotarg 01921-05-21 May 21, 1921 01921 1921 Operated only on the route between Warsaw and Poznan
Mexicana 01921-07-12 July 12, 1921 August 28, 2010 Suspended operations indefinitely.
West Australian Airways 01921-12-05 December 5, 1921 01936-06-12 June 12, 1936 Became part of Australian National Airways.
Aeromarine West Indies Airways 01921 1921 01924 1924
Aerolloyd 01922-09 September 1922 01929-12-29 December 29, 1929 Merged with other privetely-owned airlines in Poland and eventually formed LOT Polish Airlines.[1]
Malert 01922-11-19 November 19, 1922 01944 1944 Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines.
Air Union 01923-01-01 January 1, 1923 01933-10-07 October 7, 1933 Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
/ Aeroflot 01923-02-09 February 9, 1923 Still in operation
SABENA 01923-05-23 May 23, 1923 02002-02 February 2002 Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines.
British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd 01923-08 August 1923 01924 1924 Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Czech Airlines 01923-10-06 October 6, 1923 Still in operation
Finnair 01923-11-01 November 1, 1923 Still in operation Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968.
Zakavia 01923 1923 01925 1925
Imperial Airways 01924 1924 01939 1939 Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways.
AB Aerotransport 01924-06-02 June 2, 1924 01950 1950 Formed SAS.
Delta Air Lines 01924-05-30 May 30, 1924 Still in operation Founded as Huff Daland Dusters.
/ Tajik Air 01924-09-03 September 3, 1924 Still in operation
CIDNA 01925-01-01 January 1, 1925 01933-10-07 October 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 February 1925 01928-12-31 December 31, 1928 Merged with other privetely-owned airlines in Poland and eventually formed LOT Polish Airlines.
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano 01925-09-15 September 15, 1925 02007-04-01 April 1, 2007 Airline is going to be replaced with Boliviana de Aviación.
Western Air Express 01925 1925 01986-09-09 September 9, 1986 Merged with Delta Air Lines in 1986.
Deutsche Luft Hansa 01926-01-06 January 6, 1926 01945 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 01926-03 March 1926 01930 1930 Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways.
Varney Airlines 01926-04-06 April 6, 1926 01934 1934 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.
Northwest Airlines 01926 1926 02010-01-31January 31, 2010 Merged with Delta Air Lines.
Colonial Air Transport 01926 1926 01930 1930 Formed American Airlines.
Varig 01927-05-07 May 7, 1927 02006-07-20 July 20, 2006 New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos.
// Jat Airways 01927-07-17 July 17, 1927 Still in operation formed as Aeroput in 1927, then re-named JAT - Jugoslovenski aerotransport in 1947, and then Jat Airways in 2003
Cruzeiro do Sul 01927-12-01 December 1, 1927 01993-01-01 January 1, 1993 Founded as Syndicato Condor. Name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943. Merged with Varig.
ETA 01928-08-10 August 10, 1928 01929-11-16 November 16, 1929 Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties.
LOT Polish Airlines 01929-01-01 January 1, 1929 Still in operation Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government to replace Aerolloyd, Aero, and Aerotarg.
LAN Airlines 01929-03-05 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.
Iberia 01929-06-28 June 28, 1929 Still in operation Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group in January 2011
Aeropostal 01929-07-03 July 3, 1929 Still in operation Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization.
Panair do Brasil 01929-10-22 October 22, 1929 01965-02-16 February 16, 1965 Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Government.

Notes

  1. ^ [1]
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