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 | / | 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. | 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 | First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer | ||||
| Aircraft Transport and Travel |  United Kingdom | 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 | Started scheduled service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919; Became Chalk's International Airlines. | ||||
| Deutsche Luft-Reederei | / | 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 |  Norway | Founding member of IATA | |||
| Det Danske Luftfartselskab |  Denmark | Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946. | |||
| Société des lignes Latécoère |  France | Services started December 25, 1918; rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927; its assets were incorporated into Air France in 1933 | |||
| Svensk Lufttrafik |  Sweden | Services started 7 August 1920 | |||
| Lignes Aériennes Farman | France | Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |||
| Société Générale des Transports Aériens | France | Merged with four other airlines to form Air France. | |||
| Grands Express Aériens | France | Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union. | |||
| SNETA |  Belgium | Merged into Sabena. | |||
| Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes | France | Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union. | |||
| Daimler Airway | United Kingdom | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |||
| CCNA (Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea) | [1] | First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government. | |||
| KLM | 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.[2] [3] Merged with Air France in 2004 to form Air France–KLM. The airline is the "Oldest operating airline". | |||
| SCADTAAvianca | Still in operation |  Colombia | 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 | United Kingdom | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |||
| Handley Page Indo-Burmese transport | [4] | First airline in India (then under British rule). | |||
| Instone Air Line | United Kingdom | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |||
| A/S Aero | Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik | ||||
| CFRNA | France/ | Renamed CIDNA in 1925; the French arm was merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France; the Romanian arm was renamed LARES. | |||
| Qantas | 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.[5] The airline is the "Third oldest airline by foundation date", "Second oldest continuously-operating" (after KLM) and the "Oldest airline in the English-speaking world". | |||
| Aeronaut |  Estonia | Operated the routes: Tallinn-Helsinki, Tallinn-Stockholm, Tallinn-Riga-Königsberg and Tallinn-Tartu-Viljandi-Pärnu. Stopped operations in 1927 due to financial problems. | |||
| Aerotarg | 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 |  Mexico | Suspended operations indefinitely. MRO still operational. | |||
| Deruluft | / | Joint German-Soviet airline. | |||
| West Australian Airways |  Australia | Became part of Australian National Airways. | |||
| Aeromarine West Indies Airways |  United States | Services started 1 November 1920; first U.S. international air service | |||
| Junkers Luftverkehr | 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.[6] | ||
| Aerolloyd |  Poland | Name changed to Aerolot in 1925; merged with other privately owned airlines in Poland formed LOT Polish Airlines.[7] | |||
| Latvijas gaisa satiksme AS | July 31, 1922 | 1928 |  Latvia | 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 |  Hungary | Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines. | |||
| Air Union | France | Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France. | |||
| Aeroflot | Still in operation | / | Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932. | ||
| SABENA | Belgium | Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines, which became Brussels Airlines. MRO still operational. | |||
| British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd | United Kingdom | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways. | |||
| Czech Airlines | Still in operation | Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995. | |||
| Finnair | Still in operation |  Finland | Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968. | ||
| Florida Airways | United States | ||||
| Ukrpovitroshliakh | Merged with Zakavia and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot. | ||||
| Zakavia | Merged with Ukrvozdukhput and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot. | ||||
| Condor Syndikat | / Brazil | German-based Brazilian airline; absorbed into Deutsche Luft Hansa | |||
| AB Aerotransport | Sweden | Formed SAS. | |||
| Tajik Air | Still in operation | Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991. | |||
| Imperial Airways | United Kingdom | Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways. | |||
| Slov-Air | / Slovakia | 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 | Poland | Merged with Aerolot formed LOT Polish Airlines. | |||
| Ryan Airline Company | United States | Name changed to B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation. | |||
| Delta Air Lines | 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 | United States | Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934. | |||
| Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano | Former flag carrier of Bolivia; replaced by Boliviana de Aviación. | ||||
| Unión Aérea Española |  Spain | Merged with Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas following Wall Street Crash of 1929. | |||
| Ford Air Transport Service | United States | The world's first regularly-scheduled commercial cargo airline. | |||
| Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea | Merged with 3 other airlines to form Ala Littoria. | ||||
| Western Airlines | United States | 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. | |||
| Pacific Air Transport | United States | Merged into Boeing Air Transport, but continued to operate as a separate division until 1934. | |||
| Deutsche Luft Hansa | / | 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 |  Canada | Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways. | |||
| Varney Air Lines | United States | 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 | Still in operation | United States | |||
| Eastern Air Lines | United States | 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. | |||
| Northwest Airlines | United States | Merged with Delta Air Lines. | |||
| Colonial Air Transport | United States | Formed American Airlines. | |||
| Pan American World Airways | United States | Founded by Juan T. Trippe and began operations in 1927 as Pan American Airways (PAA). Former de facto flag carrier of United States.[8] 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 | Brazil | New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos. | |||
| Air Serbia | Still in operation | /// 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 | Still in operation | Spain | Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group (IAG) in January 2011. | ||
| Maddux Air Lines | United States | Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA. | |||
| Bunavad | First national airline of Bulgaria. | ||||
| Cruzeiro do Sul | Brazil | Founded as Syndicato Condor; name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943; merged with Varig in 1993. | |||
| Grand Canyon Airlines | Still in operation | United States | Founded as Scenic Airways; name changed to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930. | ||
| Standard Air Lines | United States | Sold off to Western Air Express, itself merged to form T & WA. | |||
| National Parks Airways | United States | Bought out by Western Air Express. | |||
| Wien Air Alaska | United States | First airline in Alaska. | |||
| MacRobertson Miller Airlines | Australia | Absorbed into Ansett. | |||
| Paul R. Braniff, Inc. | United States | 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 | / Indonesia | First operated as KNILM. KNILM dissolved and transferred to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (today Garuda Indonesia) | |||
| Universal Air Lines | United States | Merged with other companies to form American Airlines. | |||
| ETA | Brazil | Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties. | |||
| British Columbia Airways | Canada British Columbia Airways | Had a single Ford 4-AT Trimotor which crashed.[9] | |||
| Faucett Perú |  Peru | ||||
| Japan Air Transport | Merged into Imperial Japanese Airways. | ||||
| Mid-Continent Airlines | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | Still in operation | Poland | Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government they have absorbed airlines Aerolot (1922) and Aero (1925). | ||
| Hawaiian Airlines | Still in operation | United States | Incorporated January 30, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways. Began service October 6, 1929. Name changed to Hawaiian Airlines October 1, 1941. | ||
| LATAM Chile | Still in operation |  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. | ||
| Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas | Spain | Ceased operations due to the Spanish Civil War. | |||
| Aeropostal | Still in operation | Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization. | |||
| Pan American-Grace Airways | United States | Joint venture between Pan Am and Grace Shipping Company; merged into Braniff in 1969. | |||
| Cubana de Aviación | Still in operation | ||||
| Panair do Brasil | Brazil | Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Militar Dictatorship Government. | |||
| Wiggins Airways | Still in operation (?) | United States | |||
| Union Airways | First South African airline; taken over by the government and renamed South African Airways. | ||||
| Australian National Airways | Australia | ||||
| Trans World Airlines | United States | Acquired by American Airlines. | |||
| Aviaarktika | Absorbed into Aeroflot. | ||||
| / | United States | ||||
| New England & Western Air Transportation Co. | United States | ||||
| South West African Airways | First commercial air service in South West Africa (Namibia) |
For airlines founded after 1930 see