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The world’s oldest airline, with its original name, is generally regarded as the Dutch flag carrier, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Coincidentally, KLM is also regarded as the world’s oldest airline to be continuously operating. It is the clearest and oldest example of an airline not changing its name. As noted below, there is some room for dispute as KLM has merged into Air France-KLM. If that were to be disqualifying, then none of the ten oldest airlines are operating with their original names.
The second-oldest, third-oldest, and fourth-oldest are arguably Australia’s Qantas, the US’ Delta, and Spain’s Iberia. But these are a bit difficult as their full legal names have changed over time, even if the shorthand “Qantas” and “Iberia” have not. Iberia was founded as Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transportes and changed its name to Iberia, Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. in 1944, and today operates under the legal name Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal.
The Evolving Nature Of Airlines
Naming the oldest airlines in the world is difficult, as all airlines have changed dramatically over time. For example, British Airways in its current form has existed since March 1974, when British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways merged, along with the regional carriers Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines. But British Airways is not looking forward to celebrating its centenary in 2074; it celebrated it in 2019.
This is because British Airways traces its origins back to 1919 when Aircraft Transport & Travel (AT&T) began the world’s first daily international commercial air service between London and Paris. United Airlines started in 1931 as a subsidiary of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, as Boeing Air Transport, National Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport, and Varney Air Lines all merged. These airlines date back further than 1931. The name “British Airways” was used by a British Airways predecessor in 1935.
In 2010, United merged with Continental, blending United’s name with Continental’s tail logo. While the US Airways and American Airlines merger is recorded as a merger, it was really US Airways taking over American, with the resulting management and culture being US Airways-led. Even so, US Airways chose to keep the American Airlines name.
CNN’s Oldest Airlines Flying
According to CNN, the five oldest airlines are the Dutch carrier KLM (founded 1919), the Colombian airline Avianca (founded 1919), the Australian airline Qantas (founded 1920), the Soviet/Russian airline Aeroflot (founded 1923), and the Czech Republic airline Czech Airlines (founded 1923). A few things are notable from these old names. One is that naming tendencies were different back then, and English was much less dominant internationally.
The other top ten oldest airlines are Finland’s Finnair (founded 1923), the US’ Delta Air Lines (founded 1924), Serbia’s Air Serbia (founded 1927), Spain’s Iberia (founded 1927), and British Airways, which it lists as 1919 (or 1974). This list was for the oldest airlines operating, not for those operating under their original names.
|
Top ten oldest airlines (per CNN) |
Year founded |
Current name year |
|---|---|---|
|
KLM |
1919 |
1919 |
|
Avianca |
1919 |
1940 |
|
Qantas |
1920 |
1920 or 1967 |
|
Aeroflot |
1923 |
1932 |
|
Czech Airlines |
1923 |
1995 |
|
Finnair |
1923 |
1968 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
1924 |
1928 or 1947 |
|
Air Serbia |
1927 |
2006 |
|
Iberia |
1927 |
1927 or 1944 |
|
British Airways |
1919 or 1974 |
1935 or 1974 |
Once we start delving into these names, things start to become complicated. There’s also a discussion to be had about how nitpicky one should be about names. For example, should British Airways count from 1935, even though the name was later dropped to be revived in 1974? While Japan Airlines does not make the list (it was established in 1951), it has changed its name from Japan Air Lines to Japan Airlines.
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The Netherlands’ KLM Is The Oldest
The airline with arguably the strongest claim to be the oldest airline still flying under its original name is KLM, which stands for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij. This is an accolade claimed today by the airline, with KLM saying, “KLM is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name.” KLM says of its founding, “On 7 October 1919, the Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij voor Nederland en Koloniën (Royal Dutch Airlines for the Netherlands and Colonies) was founded by 8 investors from the business and banking sectors. And so, the “Flying Dutchman” – once a legend – became a reality.”
The name directly translates as Koninklijke “Royal,” Luchtvaart, “Aviation” (literally “air navigation” or “air travel”), and Maatschappij “Company.” It is translated into English as Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM is notable for never having changed its name and has operated continuously; it even managed to keep operating during WWII after Germany conquered the Netherlands, although its flights were disrupted during this time. There is one hitch. KLM is now a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group and no longer operates as an independent airline.
Today, KLM has a fleet of around 126 aircraft and is the only airline on CNN’s list that doesn’t operate domestic flights. The group’s three main airlines are Air France, KLM, and Transavia, and it was formed in 2004. This is part of a larger European trend for national airlines to merge, but preserve their brand names. Something similar is true of British Airways and Iberia (International Consolidated Airlines Group or IAG) and Lufthansa (Lufthansa Group).
Qantas’ Changing Name
Many airlines were founded as local airlines, and the founders did not think they would grow to be national airlines. This is seen in Qantas, which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services. The name was written as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Q.A.N.T.A.S.). So there is at least a stylistic change between Qantas and Q.A.N.T.A.S.
But in 1934, Q.A.N.T.A.S. and Great Britain’s Imperial Airways (a British Airways predecessor) formed Qantas Empire Airways Limited (QEA). In 1947, QEA was nationalized by Australia, and QANTAS Limited was wound up and liquidated. In 1967, Qantas Empire Airways changed its name to Qantas Airways. So there is debate here whether Qantas is operating under its original name, or if the QEA interregnum disqualifies it.
Across the ditch in New Zealand, Air New Zealand traces back to East Coast Airways (founded 1935) and Cook Strait Airways (1923), which merged in 1936 as the domestic Union Airways of New Zealand (later New Zealand National Airways Corporation or NAC). The international airline, Tasman Empire Airways Limited, was established in 1940 and was owned by the New Zealand government, Qantas, and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation). It took on the name Air New Zealand in 1965 and merged with National Airways Corporation in 1978.
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From Huff Daland Dusters To Delta
In the United States, Delta Air Lines is named after the Mississippi Delta region, where its origins trace back. Delta was established as a crop-dusting business initially called Huff Daland Dusters. Incidentally, Huff Daland Dusters was the world’s first aerial crop-dusting operation. In 1928, the name was changed to Delta Air Service and then to Delta Air Corporation in 1930.
In 1945, Delta finally took on its current name, Delta Air Lines, Inc. So this would disqualify Delta from being one of the oldest operating under its original name, that’s Huff Daland Dusters. But if one were to forget that, then it can be debated if one should select 1928, when it was called Delta Air Service, or 1947, when it took its original Delta Air Lines name. After all, most folks just call it “Delta.”
In 2008, Delta Air Lines merged with Northwest Airlines, although it preserved its name. Delta is also one of the very few airlines to still preserve the now archaic spelling “air lines” instead of “airlines”. SWISS International Air Lines is another example.
Other Changing Names
This leaves Avianca, Aeroflot, Czech Airlines, Finnair, Air Serbia, and Iberia from CNN’s list of the oldest airlines. Of these, Avianca (founded in December 1919) was originally SCADTA and wasn’t called Avianca until its merger and reorganization in 1940. Aeroflot was founded in 1923 as Dobrolet and wasn’t renamed Aeroflot until 1932. History buffs can anticipate that Czech Airlines has changed its name, as the current name refers to a country that didn’t exist when it was founded.
It was founded in 1923, and it was called ČSA Československé státní aerolinie (Czechoslovak State Airlines). This was a period when Czechoslovakia existed. At the end of WWII, it was renamed as Československé aerolinie (Czechoslovak Airlines). As Czechoslovakia broke up in 1991, Czechoslovak Airlines was split into Czechoslovak Airlines and Slov Air. Czechoslovak Airlines was renamed Czech Airlines a few years later.
When Finnair was founded in 1923, it was called Aero O/Y and was only renamed Finnair in 1968. Air Serbia also refers to a country that didn’t exist in its earlier days. It was originally founded as Aeroput, changing its name to JAT Jugoslovenski Aerotransport in 1948. As Yugoslavia broke up and was reduced to Serbia and Montenegro, it was renamed Jat Airways in 2003, and then Air Serbia after Montenegro left in 2006. Iberia is perhaps the second-oldest airline name, being founded as Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transportes in 1927, and keeping the “Iberia” of its name through later changes.
