An Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline

An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1360x888, 310 KB) Summary Photo I have taken at the 2005 Dubai Airshow of the new Airbus A380 painted in full Emirates Airlines Colors. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1360x888, 310 KB) Summary Photo I have taken at the 2005 Dubai Airshow of the new Airbus A380 painted in full Emirates Airlines Colors. ... The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by EADS (Airbus S.A.S.). As the largest passenger airliner in the world, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France,[2] and is scheduled to begin commercial flights late in 2007. ... “Emirates” redirects here. ... Civil airliner - Air India Boeing 747-400 Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-Military aviation, both private and commercial. ... A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination. ... Freight is a term used to classify the transportation of cargo and is typically a commercial process. ... This page discusses periodic tenancies (i. ... An Airbus A340 airliner operated by Air Jamaica An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft with the primary function of transporting paying passengers. ... A partnership is a type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which all have invested. ... An airline alliance is an agreement between two or more airlines to cooperate for the foreseeable future on a substantial level. ...

Industry overview

Airlines vary from those with a single airplane carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating many hundreds of airplanes. Airline services can be categorized as being intercontinental, intracontinental, or domestic and may be operated as scheduled services or charters.

Patterns

The headquarters of Air India in Mumbai, India.

• The pattern of ownership has gone from government owned or supported to independent, for-profit public companies. This occurs as regulators permit greater freedom and non-government ownership, in steps that are usually decades apart. This pattern is not seen for all airlines in all regions.
• The demand for air travel services depends on: business needs for cargo shipments, business passenger demand, leisure passenger demand, all influenced by economic activity.
• The overall trend of demand has been consistently increasing. In the 1950s and 1960s, annual growth rates of 15% or more were common. Annual growth of 5-6% persisted through the 1980s and 1990s^{[citation needed]}. Growth rates are not consistent in all regions, but countries with a de-regulated airline industry have more competition and greater pricing freedom. This results in lower fares and sometimes dramatic spurts in traffic growth. The U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Mexico,India and other markets exhibit this trend.
• The industry is cyclical. Four or five years of poor performance precede five or six years of improved performance. But profitability in the good years is generally low, in the range of 2-3% net profit after interest and tax. In times of profit, airlines lease new generations of airplanes and upgrade services in response to higher demand. Since 1980, the industry has not earned back the cost of capital during the best of times. Conversely, in bad times losses can be dramatically worse.
• Warren Buffett once said that despite all the money that has been invested in all airlines, the net profit is less than zero. He believes it is one of the hardest businesses to manage.
• As in many mature industries, consolidation is a trend. Airline groupings may consist of limited bilateral partnerships, long-term, multi-faceted alliances between carriers, equity arrangements, mergers, or takeovers. Since governments often restrict ownership and merger between companies in different countries, most consolidation takes place within a country. In the U.S., over 200 airlines have merged, been taken over, or gone out of business since deregulation in 1978. Many international airline managers are lobbying their governments to permit greater consolidation to achieve higher economy and efficiency.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x664, 52 KB) Air India headquarters, Bombay Source: Taken by me on 11-Aug-2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Air India ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x664, 52 KB) Air India headquarters, Bombay Source: Taken by me on 11-Aug-2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Air India ... Air India (formerly Air-India, Hindi: ) is the national flag carrier of India with a worldwide network of passenger and cargo services. ... , “Bombay” redirects here. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Warren Edward Buffett (b. ... The phrase mergers and acquisitions (abbreviated M&A) refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business... A takeover in business refers to one company (the acquirer, or bidder) purchasing another (the target). ...

World's First Airline

LZ 10, a DELAG zeppelin

DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German: acronym for "German Airship Transport Corporation") was the world's first airline. It was founded on November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt. The five oldest non-dirigible airlines are Netherland's KLM, Colombia's Avianca, Australia's Qantas, Mexico's Mexicana and Finland's Finnair. Image File history File linksMetadata LZ10_Schwaben_1911. ... Image File history File linksMetadata LZ10_Schwaben_1911. ... LZ 10, a DELAG zeppelin DELAG, Deutsche Luftschifffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German: acronym for German Aeronautics Corporation) was the worlds first airline. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This is an article about Zeppelin airships. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ... KLM can also refer to KLM (Human Computer Interaction) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (in full: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, literally Royal Air Transport Company; usual English: Royal Dutch Airlines) is an airline subsidiary of Air France-KLM based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Qantas (Qantas Airways Limited) (pronounced ) is the name and callsign of the national airline of Australia. ... Mexicana de Aviación (commonly known by the shorter name Mexicana) is Mexicos second largest airline company, after Aeroméxico, and the worlds third oldest airline still using its original name, after Hollands KLM and Colombias Avianca. ... Finnair is Finlands largest airline and the flag carrier. ...

Early development

U.S.

Tony Jannus conducted the United State's first scheduled commercial airline flight on 1 January 1914 for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. The 23 minute flight traveled between St. Petersburg, Florida and Tampa, Florida, passing some 50 feet above Tampa Bay in Jannus' Benoist XIV biplane flying boat. Chalk's Airlines (now Chalk's International Airlines) began service between Miami and Bimini in the Bahamas in February 1919. Now based in Ft. Lauderdale, Chalk's claims to be the oldest continuously operating airline in the United States. Tony Jannus (1889-1916), born Antony Habersack Jannus, was an early American pilot who conducted the worlds first scheduled commercial airline flight on January 1, 1914. ... For other uses, see St. ... Nickname: Location in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. ... The Benoist XIV was a small biplane flying boat built in the United States in 1913 in the hope of using it to carry paying passengers. ... Chalks International Airlines (IATA: OP, ICAO: CHK, and Callsign: Chalks), formerly Chalks Ocean Airways, is an airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ... Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, is a city located in Broward County, Florida. ...

Following World War I, the United States found itself swamped with aviators. Many decided to take their war-surplus aircraft on barnstorming campaigns, performing acrobatic maneuvers to woo crowds. 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 for reconnaissance missions on the Western Front. Private operators were the first to fly the mail but due to numerous accidents the US Army was tasked with mail delivery. During the course of the Army's involvement they proved to be too unreliable and lost their air mail duties. By the mid-1920s, the Postal Service had developed its own air mail network, based on a transcontinental backbone between New York and San Francisco. To supplant this service, they offered twelve contracts for spur routes to independent bidders: the carriers that won these routes would, through time and mergers, evolve into Delta Air Lines, Braniff Airways, American Airlines, United Airlines (originally a division of Boeing), Trans World Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines, to name a few. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... USPS and Usps redirect here. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... Airmail (or air mail) is mail that is transported by aircraft. ... The Curtiss JN-4 biplane is possibly North Americas most famous World War I airplane. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... USPS and Usps redirect here. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... “San Francisco” redirects here. ... Delta Air Lines, Inc. ... One of many different airplane livery designs of Braniff International Airlines. ... American Airlines, Inc. ... United Airlines, also known as United Air Lines, Inc. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by William Boeing. ... Trans World Airlines (IATA: TW, ICAO: TWA, and Callsign: TWA), commonly known as TWA, was an American airline company that was acquired by American Airlines in April 2001. ... Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA), occasionally known as NWA, is an American airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. ... Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991. ...

US airline route structure before World War II

Passenger service during the early 1920s was sporadic: most airlines at the time were focused on carrying bags of mail. 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. With a 12-passenger capacity, the Trimotor made passenger service potentially profitable. Air service was seen as a supplement to rail service in the American transportation network. Image File history File links Airline_1920-1941. ... Image File history File links Airline_1920-1941. ... The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... “Ford” redirects here. ... Ford Trimotor G-CYWZ of the Royal Canadian Air Force. ... French 1912 drawing of typical elements of railways Railway tracks running through Stanhope railway station in North East England, UK A railway yard in Portland, Oregon. ...

At the same time, Juan Trippe began a crusade to create an air network that would link America to the world, and he achieved this goal through his airline, Pan American World Airways, with a fleet of flying boats that linked Los Angeles to Shanghai and Boston to London. Pan Am was the only U.S. airline to go international before the 1940s. Trippe, Time, 1933 Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an airline entrepreneur and pioneer. ... Pan Ams seaplane terminal at Dinner Key in Miami, Florida, was a hub of inter-American travel during the 1930s and 1940s. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Settled 1630 Incorporated (city) 1822 Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

With the introduction of the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-3 in the 1930s, the U.S. airline industry was generally profitable, even during the Great Depression. This trend continued until the beginning of World War II. The Boeing 247 was an early modern passenger airliner. ... The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft, which revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s and is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made (also see Boeing 707 and Boeing 747). ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Europe

The Imperial Airways Empire Terminal, Victoria, London. Trains ran from here to flying boats in Southampton, and to Croydon Airport.

The first countries in Europe to embrace air transport were Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Download high resolution version (480x640, 29 KB)National Audit Office - Buckingham Palace Road - Victoria - - London - England - photo by and copyright Tagishsimon - 2nd May 2004 National Audit Office building, previously the Imperial Airways Empire Terminal. ... Download high resolution version (480x640, 29 KB)National Audit Office - Buckingham Palace Road - Victoria - - London - England - photo by and copyright Tagishsimon - 2nd May 2004 National Audit Office building, previously the Imperial Airways Empire Terminal. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... Southampton is the largest city[1] on the south coast of England. ... The control tower of Croydon Airport in 1939, with the BOAC de Havilland DH 91 Albatross Fortuna alongside Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary of what are now the London Borough of Croydon and the London Borough of Sutton. ...

KLM, the oldest carrier still operating under its original name, was founded in 1919. The first flight transported two English passengers to Schiphol, Amsterdam from London in 1920. Like other major European airlines of the time (see France and the UK below), KLM's early growth depended heavily on the needs to service links with far-flung colonial possessions (Dutch Indies). It is only after the loss of the Dutch Empire that KLM found itself based at a small country with few potential passengers, depending heavily on transfer traffic, and was one of the first to introduce the hub-system to facilitate easy connections. KLM can also refer to KLM (Human Computer Interaction) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (in full: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, literally Royal Air Transport Company; usual English: Royal Dutch Airlines) is an airline subsidiary of Air France-KLM based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCTs) at Schiphol Airport Schiphol (municipality Haarlemmermeer) is the Netherlands main airport. ... Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: , Country Province Government  - Mayor Job Cohen (PvdA)  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies set up by the Dutch East India Company, which came under administration of the Netherlands during the 19th century (see Indonesia). ... A map showing the territory that the Netherlands held at various points in history. ... KLM can also refer to KLM (Human Computer Interaction) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (in full: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, literally Royal Air Transport Company; usual English: Royal Dutch Airlines) is an airline subsidiary of Air France-KLM based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ...

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. In 1933, Aéropostale went bankrupt, was nationalized and merged with several other airlines into what became Air France. Aéropostale (formally, Compagnie générale aéropostale) was a pioneering French aviation company. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration—see text) in the United Kingdom. ... Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is an airline based in Paris, France, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group and is the international flag carrier of France. ...

In Finland, the charter establishing Aero O/Y (now Finnair, one of the oldest still-operating airlines in the world) was signed in the city of Helsinki on 12 September 1923. Junkers F 13 D-335 became the first aircraft of the company, when Aero took delivery of it on 14 March 1924. The first flight was between Helsinki and Tallinn, capital of Estonia, and it took place on 20 March 1924, one week later. Finnair is Finlands largest airline and the flag carrier. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - City manager Jussi Pajunen Area  - City 187. ... is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Junkers F.13 (also known as the F 13, and developed under an engineering designation of J 13), was an all-metal transport German aircraft that first flew on June 25, 1919. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... County Area 159. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Germany's Lufthansa began in 1926. Lufthansa, unlike most other airlines at the time, became a major investor in airlines outside of Europe, providing capital to Varig and Avianca. German airliners built by Junkers, Dornier, and Fokker were the most advanced in the world at the time. The peak of German air travel came in the mid-1930s, when Nazi propaganda ministers approved the start of commercial zeppelin service: the big airships were a symbol of industrial might, but the fact that they used flammable hydrogen gas raised safety concerns that culminated with the Hindenburg disaster of 1937. The reason they used hydrogen instead of the not-flammable helium gas was a United States military embargo on helium. The Luftansa headquarters in Cologne, Germany. ... Varig Boeing 737-300 Varig (Viação Aérea RIo Grandense) is an airline owned by Gol Transportes Aéreos based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Junkers & Co was a major German aircraft manufacturer. ... Dornier logo. ... Fokkers first airplane, the Spin (1910) Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... This is an article about Zeppelin airships. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... Hindenburg may refer to: Persons: Paul von Hindenburg (1847 – 1934), German general in World War I and president of Germany (1925 – 1934) Oskar von Hindenburg (1883 – 1960), son of the former Carl Hindenburg (1741–1808), mathematician Hindenburg, Japanese comic writer Places (all named after Paul von Hindenburg): Hindenburg (Altmark) in... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ...

The United Kingdom's flag carrier during this period was Imperial Airways, which became BOAC (British Overseas Airlines Co.) in 1939. Imperial Airways used huge Handley-Page biplanes for routes between London, the Middle East, and India: images of Imperial aircraft in the middle of the Rub'al Khali, being maintained by Bedouins, are among the most famous pictures from the heyday of the British Empire. For other uses, see Flag carrier (disambiguation). ... The Imperial Airways Empire Terminal, Victoria, London. ... After technical problems with the Comet, BOAC resumed jet service with imported Boeing 707s. ... The Handley Page Aircraft Company was founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909. ... Hs123 biplane. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The Empty Quarter (Arabic: Rub al Khali الربع الخالي), is the largest sand desert in the world, encompassing the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including southern Saudi Arabia, and areas of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. ... A Bedouin man on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic ( ), a name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Asia

A Philippine Airlines DC-3 at Manila, Philippines

Some of the First Countries in Asia to Embrace Air Transport where Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Philippine Airlines is the national airline of the Philippines. ... Nickname: Motto: Linisin Ibangon Maynila Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Manila Coordinates: 14°35 N 121° E Country Region Districts 1st to 6th districts of Manila Barangays 897 Incorporated (city) June 10, 1574 Government  - Mayor Alfredo Lim (2007-2010 GO)  - Vice Mayor Isko Moreno (AM/PDP-Laban...

The First country in Asia to embrace air transport was the Philippines. Philippine Airlines was founded on February 26, 1941, making it Asia's oldest carrier still operating under its current name. The airline was started by a group of businessmen led by Andres Soriano, hailed as one of the Philippines' leading industrialists at the time. The airline’s first flight was made 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. Notably Philippine Airlines leased Japan Airlines their first aircraft, a DC-3 named "Kinsei". On July 31, 1946, a chartered Philippine Airlines DC-4 ferried 40 American servicemen to Oakland,California from Nielson Airport in Makati City with stops in Guam, Wake Island, Johnston Atoll and Honolulu, Hawaii, making PAL the first Asian airline to cross the Pacific Ocean. A regular service between Manila and San Francisco was started in December. It was during this year that the airline was designated as the Philippine's flag carrier. Philippine Airlines is the national airline of the Philippines. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nickname: Motto: Linisin Ibangon Maynila Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Manila Coordinates: 14°35 N 121° E Country Region Districts 1st to 6th districts of Manila Barangays 897 Incorporated (city) June 10, 1574 Government  - Mayor Alfredo Lim (2007-2010 GO)  - Vice Mayor Isko Moreno (AM/PDP-Laban... Nielson Field (Luzon, the Philippines) was the location of the U.S. Far East Air Force headquarters. ... Click here for the entry on Baguio City ... Philippine Airlines is the national airline of the Philippines. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Philippine Airlines is the national airline of the Philippines. ... The designation DC-4 was used by Douglas Aircraft Company when developing the DC-4E as a large, four-engined type to complement its forthcoming DC-3 design. ... Oakland is the name of several places in the United States of America: Oakland, Alabama Oakland, California (The best-known city with this name) Oakland, Florida Oakland, Maine Oakland, Maryland Oakland, Michigan Oakland, Missouri Oakland, Nebraska Oakland, New Jersey Oakland, Oklahoma Oakland, Oregon Oakland, Pennsylvania Oakland, Rhode Island Oakland, Tennessee... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Motto: Makati, Mahalin Natin, Atin Ito (literally, Makati, We Love It, This Is Ours) Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Makati City Coordinates: 12° 01 N, 14°33, E Country Philippines Region National Capital Region Districts 1st and 2nd districts of Makati City Barangays 33 Incorporated (town) May... Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... Nickname: Motto: Linisin Ibangon Maynila Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Manila Coordinates: 14°35 N 121° E Country Region Districts 1st to 6th districts of Manila Barangays 897 Incorporated (city) June 10, 1574 Government  - Mayor Alfredo Lim (2007-2010 GO)  - Vice Mayor Isko Moreno (AM/PDP-Laban... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... For other uses, see Flag carrier (disambiguation). ...

Neighbouring countries soon embraced air transport, notably with Cathay Pacific founded in 1946, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines in 1947 (as Malayan Airways), Garuda Indonesia in 1949 and Japan Airlines founded in 1951. With the outbreak of World War Two, the airline presence in Asia came to a relative halt, with many new flag carriers donating their aircraft for military aid and other uses. Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cantonese: gwok3 taai3 hong4 hung1 yau5 haan6 gung1 si1; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; abbreviation: 國泰) (SEHK: 0293) is an airline based in Hong Kong, operating scheduled passenger and cargo services to over 104 destinations world-wide. ... Singapore Airlines Limited (Abbreviation: SIA; Chinese: ; Pinyin: , abbreviated 新航; Malay: ; Tamil: ) (SGX: S55) is the national airline of Singapore. ... Malaysia Airlines is the national airline of Malaysia. ... Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) came into being in 1966 as a result of a joint ownership of the airline by the governments of Malaysia and Singapore. ... PT (Persero) Perusahaan Penerbangan Garuda Indonesia, abbreviated to Garuda Indonesia, is the national airline of Indonesia. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Development of airlines post-1945

Post-war airline route structure.

As governments met to set the standards and scope for an emergent civil air industry toward the end of the war, it was no surprise that the U.S. took a position of maximum operating freedom. After all, U.S. airline companies were not devastated by the war, as European companies and the few Asian companies had been. This preference for "open skies" operating regimes continues, within limitations, to this day. Image File history File links Airline_1946-1955. ... Image File history File links Airline_1946-1955. ...

World War II, like World War I, brought new life to the airline industry. Many airlines in the Allied countries were flush from lease contracts to the military, and foresaw a future explosive demand for civil air transport, for both passengers and cargo. They were eager to invest in the newly emerging flagships of air travel such as the Boeing Stratocruiser, Lockheed Constellation, and Douglas DC-6. Most of these new aircraft were based on American bombers such as the B-29, which had spearheaded research into new technologies such as pressurization. Most offered increased efficiency from both added speed and greater payload. The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was airliner version of the 367 Boeing Stratofreighter, which in turn was the transport version of B-29 Superfortress. ... The Lockheed Constellation, affectionately known as the “Connie”, was a four-engine propeller-driven airliner built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. ... The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1959. ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress (Boeing Model 341/345) was a four-engine heavy bomber flown by the United States Army Air Force. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Pressurization Pressurization generally refers to the application of pressure in a given situation or environment; and more specifically refers to the process by which atmospheric pressure is maintained in an isolated or semi-isolated atmospheric environment (for instance, in an aircraft, or whilst Scuba diving). ...

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 Soviet Union bloc countered with the Tupolev Tu-104 and Tupolev Tu-124 in the fleets of state-owned carriers such as Aeroflot and Interflug. The Vickers Viscount and Lockheed L-188 Electra inaugurated turboprop transport. This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the de Havilland Comet jet airliner. ... The Boeing 707 is an American four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. ... The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined jet airliner, manufactured between 1959 and 1972. ... The SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner, produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 (when it was still known as SNCASE). ... The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) was a twin-engined medium-range turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. ... The Tupolev Tu-124 (NATO codename: Cookpot) is a Russian short range twinjet airliner capable of carrying 56 passengers. ... Aeroflot — Russian Airlines (MICEX:AFLT RTS:AFLT) (Russian: Аэрофлот — Российские авиалинии), Aeroflot — Rossiiskie Avialinii, or Aeroflot (Аэрофлот; literally air fleet), is the Russian national airline and the biggest carrier in Russia. ... Interflug was the former state airline of the German Democratic Republic from 1963 until 1991, when it ceased operations following German reunification. ... The Viscount was a medium-range turboprop airliner introduced in 1953 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world. ... The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. ...

Airline trunk route systems.

The next big boost for the airlines would come in the 1970s, when the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 inaugurated widebody ("jumbo jet") service, which is still the standard in international travel. The Tupolev Tu-144 and its Western counterpart, Concorde, made supersonic travel a reality. In 1972, Airbus began producing Europe's most commercially successful line of airliners to date. The added efficiencies for these aircraft were often not in speed, but in passenger capacity, payload, and range. Image File history File links Airline_trunk_1972. ... Image File history File links Airline_trunk_1972. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed the Jumbo Jet, is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing. ... The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American three-engine medium- to long-range widebody airliner, with two engines mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the vertical stabilizer. ... The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as just L-1011 (pronounced ell-ten-eleven), was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to enter operation, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. ... The Tupolev Tu-144 (NATO reporting name: Charger) was the first supersonic transport aircraft (SST), constructed under the direction of the Soviet Tupolev design bureau headed by Alexei Tupolev (1925–2001). ... For other uses, see Concorde (disambiguation). ... Airbus S.A.S. is the aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS N.V., a pan-European aerospace concern. ...

1978's U.S. airline industry deregulation lowered barriers for new airlines. In this period, new start-ups entered during downturns in the normal 8-10 year business cycle. At that time, they find aircraft, are financed, contract hangar and maintenance services, train new employees, and recruit laid off staff from other airlines. President Jimmy Carter signs the Airline Deregulation Act. ...

As the business cycle returned to normalcy, major airlines dominated their routes through aggressive pricing and additional capacity offerings, often swamping new startups. Only America West Airlines (which has since merged with US Airways) remained a significant survivor from this new entrant era, as dozens, even hundreds, have gone under. America West Airlines (IATA: HP, ICAO: AWE, and Callsign: Cactus), operating as US Airways, is one of the United States ten major airlines. ...

In many ways, the biggest winner in the deregulated environment was the air passenger. Indeed, the U.S. witnessed an explosive growth in demand for air travel, as many millions who had never or rarely flown before became regular fliers, even joining frequent flyer loyalty programs and receiving free flights and other benefits from their flying. New services and higher frequencies meant that business fliers could fly to another city, do business, and return the same day, for almost any point in the country. Air travel's advantages put intercity bus lines under pressure, and most have withered away. A Frequent Flyer Program is a service offered by many airlines to reward customer loyalty. ...

By the 1980s, almost half of the total flying in the world took place in the U.S., and today the domestic industry operates over 10,000 daily departures nationwide. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

De-regulated hub and spoke airline route structures.

Toward the end of the century, a new style of low cost airline emerged, offering a no-frills product at a lower price. Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, AirTran Airways, Skybus Airlines and other low-cost carriers represent a serious challenge to today's legacy airlines, as do their low-cost counterparts in Europe, Canada, and Asia. Their commercial viability represents a serious competitive threat to the legacy carriers. Image File history File links Airline_hub-1995. ... Image File history File links Airline_hub-1995. ... The Spoke-hub distribution paradigm (also known as a hub and spoke model) derives its name from a bicycle wheel, which consists of a number of spokes jutting outward from a central hub. ... A Cebu Pacific Airbus A319 parked on the apron at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. ... Southwest Airlines, Inc. ... jetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) is an American low-cost airline. ... AirTran Airways is a low-cost airline that is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, USA and is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. ... Skybus Airlines is a privately held airline based in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It is an ultra-low-cost carrier, modeled after the European airline Ryanair. ...

Thus the last 50 years of the airline industry have varied from reasonably profitable, to devastatingly depressed. As the first major market to deregulate the industry in 1978, U.S. airlines have experienced more turbulence than almost any other country or region. Today, almost every single legacy carrier except for American Airlines have operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy provisions or have gone out of business. Refering to the airline industry, a Legacy Carrier is an airline revolving around a hub & spoke network and a corporate structure. ... American Airlines, Inc. ...

Regulatory considerations

Government regulation

PIA Boeing 777-200. The Government of Pakistan is the majority stake-holder in Pakistan International Airlines.

Many countries have national airlines that the government owns and operates. Even fully private airlines are subject to a great deal of government regulation for economic, political, and safety concerns. For instance, the government often intervenes to halt airline labor actions in order to protect the free flow of people, communications, and goods between different regions without compromising safety. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 484 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 726 pixel, file size: 172 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 484 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 726 pixel, file size: 172 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Pakistan International Airlines or PIA (Urdu: Ù¾ÛŒ آئی اے يا پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایرلاینز), is the national flag carrier airline of Pakistan, based in Karachi. ... American Airlines Boeing 777. ... Government of Pakistan (Urdu: حکومتِ پاکستان)The Constitution of Pakistan provides for a Federal Parliamentary System of government, with a President as the Head of State and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the chief executive. ... Pakistan International Airlines or PIA (Urdu: Ù¾ÛŒ آئی اے يا پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایرلاینز), is the national flag carrier airline of Pakistan, based in Karachi. ... Afghanistan Ariana Afghan Airlines Albania Albanian Airlines Algeria Air Algérie Angola TAAG Argentina Aerolíneas Argentinas Armenia Armenian Airlines Australia Qantas Austria Austrian Airlines Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Airlines The Bahamas Bahamasair Bahrain Gulf Air (regional) Bangladesh Biman Bangladesh Belarus Belavia Belgium SN Brussels Airlines Sabena (former) Belize Maya Island Air...

The United States, Australia, and to a lesser extent Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Japan have "deregulated" their airlines. In the past, these governments dictated airfares, route networks, and other operational requirements for each airline. Since deregulation, airlines have been largely free to negotiate their own operating arrangements with different airports, enter and exit routes easily, and to levy airfares and supply flights according to market demand.

The entry barriers for new airlines are lower in a deregulated market, and so the U.S. has seen hundreds of airlines start up (sometimes for only a brief operating period). This has produced far greater competition than before deregulation in most markets, and average fares tend to drop 20% or more. The added competition, together with pricing freedom, means that new entrants often take market share with highly reduced rates that, to a limited degree, full service airlines must match. This is a major constraint on profitability for established carriers, which tend to have a higher cost base.

As a result, profitability in a deregulated market is uneven for most airlines. These forces have caused some major airlines to go out of business, in addition to most of the poorly established new entrants.

International regulation

Singapore Airlines Boeing 747.

Groups such as the International Civil Aviation Organization establish worldwide standards for safety and other vital concerns. Most international air traffic is regulated by bilateral agreements between countries, which designate specific carriers to operate on specific routes. The model of such an agreement was the Bermuda Agreement between the US and UK following World War II, which designated airports to be used for transatlantic flights and gave each government the authority to nominate carriers to operate routes. Image File history File linksMetadata Boeing_747_London. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Boeing_747_London. ... Singapore Airlines Limited (Abbreviation: SIA; Chinese: ; Pinyin: , abbreviated 新航; Malay: ; Tamil: ) (SGX: S55) is the national airline of Singapore. ... The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed the Jumbo Jet, is a long-haul, widebody commercial airliner manufactured by Boeing. ... The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ... In 1946, on the isle of Bermuda, U.S. and British negotiators reached the Bermuda Agreement, the first bilateral Air Transport Agreement regulating civil air transport. ...

Bilateral agreements are based on the "freedoms of the air," a group of generalized traffic rights ranging from the freedom to overfly a country to the freedom to provide domestic flights within a country (a very rarely granted right known as cabotage). 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. The Freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a countrys airline(s) the privilege to enter and land in another countrys airspace. ... Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country. ...

In the 1990s, "open skies" agreements became more common. These agreements take many of these regulatory powers from state governments and open up international routes to further competition. 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. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The Open Skies system is an integrated web-enabled reservation and inventory system suite that includes Internet, call center, airport departure control functionality and more. ...

Economic considerations

Historically, air travel has survived largely through state support, whether in the form of equity or subsidies. The airline industry as a whole has made a cumulative loss during its 120-year history, once the costs include subsidies for aircraft development and airport construction.^[1][2]

One argument is that positive externalities, such as higher growth due to global mobility, outweigh the microeconomic losses and justify continuing government. A historically high level of government intervention in the airline industry can be seen as part of a wider political consensus on strategic forms of transport, such as highways and railways, both of which receive public funding in most parts of the world. Profitability is likely to improve in the future as privatization continues and more competitive low-cost carriers proliferate. An externality occurs in economics when a decision (for example, to pollute the atmosphere) causes costs or benefits to individuals or groups other than the person making the decision. ... A highway is a major road within a city, or linking several cities together. ...

Although many countries continue to operate state-owned or parastatal airlines, many large airlines today are privately owned and are therefore governed by microeconomic principles in order to maximize shareholder profit.

Lufthansa Boeing 747-400

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 108 KB) Beschreibung: Frankfurt (Main) Airport Terminal 1 Lufthansa Boeing 747 Quelle: Fotografiert im Dezember 2004 Fotograf: Heidas Wikipedia account All pictures please use this discussion page File links The following pages link to this file: Lufthansa Metadata This file... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 108 KB) Beschreibung: Frankfurt (Main) Airport Terminal 1 Lufthansa Boeing 747 Quelle: Fotografiert im Dezember 2004 Fotograf: Heidas Wikipedia account All pictures please use this discussion page File links The following pages link to this file: Lufthansa Metadata This file... The Luftansa headquarters in Cologne, Germany. ...

Ticket revenue

Airlines assign prices to their services in an attempt to maximize profitability. The pricing of airline tickets has become increasingly complicated over the years and is now largely determined by computerized yield management systems. Yield management, also known as revenue management, is the process of understanding, anticipating and reacting to consumer behaviour in order to maximize revenue or profits. ...

Because of the complications in scheduling flights and maintaining profitability, airlines have many loopholes that can be used by the knowledgable traveler. Many of these airfare secrets are becoming more and more known to the general public, so airlines are forced to make constant adjustments.

Most airlines use differentiated pricing, a form of price discrimination, in order to sell air services at varying prices simultaneously to different segments. Factors influencing the price include the days remaining until departure, the current booked load factor, the forecast of total demand by price point, competitive pricing in force, and variations by day of week of departure and by time of day. Carriers often accomplish this by dividing each cabin of the aircraft (first, business and economy) into a number of travel classes for pricing purposes. Price discrimination exists when sales of identical goods or services are transacted at different prices from the same provider. ... A travel class is a quality of accommodation on public transport. ...

A complicating factor is that of origin-destination control ("O&D control"). Someone purchasing a ticket from Melbourne to Sydney (as an example) for $200 (AUD) is competing with someone else who wants to fly Melbourne to Los Angeles through Sydney on the same flight, and who is willing to pay $1400 (AUD). Should the airline prefer the $1400 passenger, or the $200 passenger plus a possible Sydney-Los Angeles passenger willing to pay $1300? Airlines have to make hundreds of thousands of similar pricing decisions daily.

The advent of advanced computerized reservations systems in the late 1970s, most notably Sabre, allowed airlines to easily perform cost-benefit analyses on different pricing structures, leading to almost perfect price discrimination in some cases (that is, filling each seat on an aircraft at the highest price that can be charged without driving the consumer elsewhere). The intense nature of airfare pricing has led to the term "fare war" to describe efforts by airlines to undercut other airlines on competitive routes. Through computers, new airfares can be published quickly and efficiently to the airlines' sales channels. For this purpose the airlines use the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), who distribute latest fares for more than 500 airlines to Computer Reservation Systems across the world. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Sabre Logo Sabre is a computer reservations system/global distribution system (GDS) used by airlines, railways, hotels, travel agents and other travel companies. ... Cost-benefit analysis is