List of airlines by foundation date
This is a list of airlines by foundation date, founded by December 31, 1929. For airlines founded after 1929 see Category: Airlines by year of establishment.

List of airlines by foundation date

Section Title:
Table Section Text: This is a list of airlines by foundation date, founded by December 31, 1929. For airlines founded after 1929 see Category: Airlines by year of establishment.

Airline	Established	Ceased operations	Notes

German Empire DELAG	November 16, 1909	March 21, 1935	The world's first airline in revenue service. Operated Zeppelin airships.

Hungary Aero Rt.	December 22, 1910	1920	Merged with Magyar Aeroforgalmi Rt (MAEFORT)

United States St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line	1913	1914	First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer

United Kingdom Aircraft Transport and Travel	October 5, 1916	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

United States Chalk's Ocean Airways	1917	2007	Started scheduled service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919; Became Chalk's International Airlines.

German Empire 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.

Norway Det Norske Luftfartsrederi	1918	1921	Founding member of IATA

Denmark Danish Air Lines	October 29, 1918	1946	Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946.

France Société des lignes Latécoère	December 25, 1918	1932	Services started December 25, 1918; rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927; its assets were incorporated into Air France in 1933

Sweden Svensk Lufttrafik	February 7, 1919	1921	Services started 7 August 1920

France Lignes Aériennes Farman	February 8, 1919	October 7, 1933	Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.

France Société Générale des Transports Aériens	February 8, 1919	October 8, 1933	Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.

France Grands Express Aériens	March 20, 1919	January 1, 1923	Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union.

Belgium SNETA	March 31, 1919	May 23, 1923	Merged into Sabena.

France Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes	April 18, 1919	January 1, 1923	Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union.

United Kingdom Daimler Airway	June 7, 1919	1924	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.

Colombia Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea CCNA	September 26, 1919	1921	First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government.

Netherlands KLM	October 7, 1919	Still in operation	Operations stopped during World War II (in Europe) apart from the operations in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean. Merged with Air France in 2004.

Colombia Avianca	December 5, 1919	Still in operation	Founded as Colombo-German Air Transport Society, or SCADTA. Merged with SACO on June 14, 1940 and then renamed to Avianca.

United Kingdom Handley Page Transport	1919	March 31, 1924	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.

United Kingdom Instone Air Line	1919	1924	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.

Norway Aero	January 1920	1921	Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik

France/Romania 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.

Australia Qantas	November 16, 1920	Still in operation	Holds title of "Third oldest operating Airline by Years in service" After KLM. As well as "Second oldest Continuously Operating Airline in the World" After Avianca.

Estonia 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.

Poland 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.

Mexico Mexicana	July 12, 1921	August 28, 2010	Suspended operations indefinitely. MRO still operational.

Germany/Soviet Union Deruluft	November 24, 1921	March 31, 1937	Joint German-Soviet airline.

Australia West Australian Airways	December 5, 1921	June 12, 1936	Became part of Australian National Airways.

United States Aeromarine West Indies Airways	1921	1924	Services started 1 November 1920; first U.S. international air service

Weimar Republic 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

Poland 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.

Hungary Malert	November 19, 1922	1944	Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines.

France Air Union	January 1, 1923	October 7, 1933	Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.

Soviet Union/Russia Aeroflot	February 9, 1923	Still in operation	Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932.

Belgium SABENA	May 23, 1923	February 2002	Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines. MRO still operational.

United Kingdom British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd	August 1923	1924	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.

Czechoslovakia Czech Airlines	October 6, 1923	Still in operation	Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995.

Finland Finnair	November 1, 1923	Still in operation	Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968.

United States Florida Airways	1923	1927

Soviet Union Ukrvozdukhput	1923	1929	Merged with Zakavia and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.

Soviet Union Zakavia	1923	1929	Merged with Ukrvozdukhput and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.

Germany Condor Syndikat	May 5, 1924	July 1, 1927	German-based Brazilian airline; absorbed into Deutsche Luft Hansa

United States Delta Air Lines	May 30, 1924	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, Oldest operating airline in the United States.

Sweden AB Aerotransport	June 2, 1924	October 1, 1950	Formed SAS.

Soviet Union/Tajikistan Tajik Air	September 3, 1924	January 14, 2019	Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991.

United Kingdom Imperial Airways	1924	1939	Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways.

Czechoslovakia/Slovakia 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.

Poland Aero	February 1925	December 28, 1929	Merged with Aerolot formed LOT Polish Airlines.

United States Ryan Airline Company	April 19, 1925	1926	Name changed to B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation.

United States National Air Transport	May 21, 1925	1934	Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934.

Bolivia Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano	September 15, 1925	2010	Former flag carrier of Bolivia; replaced by Boliviana de Aviación.

Spain Unión Aérea Española	1925	1929	Merged with Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas following Wall Street Crash of 1929.

United States Ford Air Transport Service	1925	1932	The world's first regularly-scheduled commercial cargo airline.

Italy Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea	1925	1934	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Ala Littoria.

United States 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.

United States Pacific Air Transport	January 1926	December 17, 1928	Merged into Boeing Air Transport, but continued to operate as a separate division until 1934.

Weimar Republic 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.

Canada Western Canadian Airways	March 1926	1930	Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways.

United States 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.

United States Eastern Air Lines	April 19, 1926	January 18, 1991	Started Operations in 1926 as (Pitcairn Aviation). Until 1929 changed to "Eastern Air Transport" now Eastern Air Lines until 1991.

United States Northwest Airlines	1926	January 31, 2010	Merged with Delta Air Lines.

United States Colonial Air Transport	1926	1930	Formed American Airlines.

United States 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).

Brazil Varig	May 7, 1927	July 20, 2006	New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia/Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro/Serbia 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.

Spain Iberia	June 28, 1927	Still in operation	Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group (IAG) in January 2011

Bulgaria Bunavad	October 25, 1927	1930	First national airline of Bulgaria.

Brazil 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.

United States Grand Canyon Airlines	1927	Still in operation	Founded as Scenic Airways; name changed to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930.

United States Maddux Air Lines	1927	November 16, 1929	Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA.

United States Standard Air Lines	1927	March 1930	Sold off to Western Air Express, itself merged to form T & WA.

United States National Parks Airways	1927	1937	Bought out by Western Air Express.

Alaska/United States Wien Air Alaska	1927	November 23, 1984	First airline in Alaska.

Australia MacRobertson Miller Airlines	1927	1993	Absorbed into Ansett.

United States 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.

Dutch East Indies/Indonesia KNILM	July 16, 1928	August 1, 1947	First operated as KNILM. KNILM dissolved and transferred to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (today Garuda Indonesia)

United States Universal Air Lines	July 30, 1928	1934	Merged with other companies to form American Airlines.

Brazil ETA	August 10, 1928	November 16, 1929	Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties.

Peru Faucett Perú	September 15, 1928	1997

Empire of Japan Japan Air Transport	1928	1938	Merged into Imperial Japanese Airways.

United States 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.

United States Transcontinental Air Transport	1928	December 1, 2001	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.

Poland LOT Polish Airlines	December 29, 1928	Still in operation	Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government they have absorbed airlines Aerolot (1922) and Aero (1925).

Hawaii/United States 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.

Chile 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.

Spain Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas	May 13, 1929	July 18, 1936	Ceased operations due to the Spanish Civil War.

Venezuela Aeropostal	July 3, 1929	Still in operation	Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization.

United States Pan American-Grace Airways	September 13, 1929	February 1, 1969	Joint venture between Pan Am and Grace Shipping Company; merged into Braniff in 1969.

Cuba Cubana	October 8, 1929	Still in operation

Brazil 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 Government.

United States Wiggins Airways	1929	Still in operation

Union of South Africa Union Airways	1929	1934	First South African airline; taken over by the government and renamed South African Airways.

Sentence(s)

Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca having been founded in November 1920.

final_sentence: Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca having been founded in November 1920.