94-578: Aer Lingus (U.K.) Limited is a British airline and sister company of the Irish Aer Lingus . It is headquartered in Belfast , Northern Ireland , with its operations based at Manchester Airport . The airline's operations launched on 20 October 2021, with its inaugural flight from Manchester to Bridgetown, Barbados. Aer Lingus UK was founded on 25 May 2012 with its headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as
188-574: A European Union carrier could no longer fly domestic routes within the United Kingdom . These flights were operated by British Airways under wet-lease terms using the Aer Lingus UK flight numbers and callsigns. British Airways would later take over full operation of the route from Aer Lingus UK. Also in October 2022, Aer Lingus UK announced that its Manchester-New York JFK service would be operated by
282-469: A Comet 4, and Pan Am followed on 26 October with a Boeing 707 service between New York and Paris. 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
376-863: A United Kingdom-based company. The company then remained dormant until 2020. In November 2020, plans for the airline involved launching the operation of transatlantic flights from the UK to the United States with the initial planned destinations being Boston , New York JFK , and Orlando from its Manchester base, followed by flights during the winter season to Bridgetown (Barbados). The airline's initial fleet plans consisted of two Airbus A321LRs and two Airbus A330-300s , all to be transferred from parent company Aer Lingus . The airline would conceptually compete with Virgin Atlantic , another British airline operating transatlantic flights from Manchester, as well as fill in part of
470-408: A certain amount of flying within a certain very short timeframe (usually 90 days), to earn elite status. The higher status may or may not be given immediately if it can be seen that qualifying travel (particularly travel that is non-refundable) has already been booked before the challenge was offered, otherwise higher status will be conferred once the challenge is officially completed. In some instances,
564-420: A certain type of virtual currency , one with unidirectional flow of money to purchase points, but no exchange back into money. FFPs have become an important part of airlines' economic models, with for example United and Delta both able to earn more than $ 1 billion in 2015 because of their FFP. Although United Airlines had tracked customers as far back as the 1950s, the first modern frequent-flyer programme
658-430: A co-branded credit card or the ability to transfer points in their loyalty programme to an airline's program. Large sign-up bonuses and other incentives are common. Accruing points via credit cards bonuses and spending allows infrequent travelers to benefit from the frequent flyer program. With a non-affiliated travel rewards credit card a cardmember can buy a positive-space ticket considered "revenue" class, which can earn
752-430: A crusade to create an air network that would link America to the world, and he achieved this goal through his airline, Pan Am , with a fleet of flying boats that linked Los Angeles to Shanghai and Boston to London . Pan Am and Northwest Airways (which began flights to Canada in the 1920s) were the only U.S. airlines to go international before the 1940s. With the introduction of the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-3 in
846-467: A desirable employee benefit , which can encourage unnecessary travel within organisations to accumulate them and lead to superfluous personal trips. Business travelers typically accrue the valuable points in their own names, rather than the names of the companies that paid for the travel. This has raised concerns that the company is providing a tax -free benefit (point-based awards) to employees, or that employees have misappropriated value that belongs to
940-449: A downturn in the nation's economy occurred. New start-ups entered during the downturn, during which time they found aircraft and funding, contracted hangar and maintenance services, trained new employees, and recruited laid-off staff from other airlines. Major airlines dominated their routes through aggressive pricing and additional capacity offerings, often swamping new start-ups. In the place of high barriers to entry imposed by regulation,
1034-427: A fee for a challenge may also be charged. Status challenges are employed by other types of establishments, as well, such as casinos and hotels. Some airlines will match status with that of a competitor upon application, usually to airlines outside of any alliance that the airline used to match status with belongs to. This enables travelers to switch their travel more easily from one carrier to another (e.g., when
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#17328557514931128-482: A frequent-flyer programme until recent years was to fly with the associated airline. Paying expenses using an airline-sponsored credit card, even those charged to an employer, can rack up frequent flyer points. Most systems reward travelers with a specific number of points based on the distance traveled (such as 1 point per mile flown), although systems vary. Many discount airlines, rather than awarding points per mile, award points for flight segments in lieu of distance or
1222-571: A gift from the taxpayers. (Passenger carriers operating scheduled service received approximately $ 4 billion, subject to tax.) In addition, the ATSB approved loan guarantees to six airlines totaling approximately $ 1.6 billion. Data from the U.S. Treasury Department show that the government recouped the $ 1.6 billion and a profit of $ 339 million from the fees, interest and purchase of discounted airline stock associated with loan guarantees. The three largest major carriers and Southwest Airlines control 70% of
1316-417: A large share of air travel. A "mileage run" is an airline trip designed and taken solely to gain maximum frequent-flyer miles, points, or elite status usually at lowest cost. If a traveler has already achieved some sort of elite status, then that traveler will earn bonus award miles or points on top of their actual flight miles or points. Depending on the program, that traveler will reach their goal sooner if
1410-570: A loyalty point as encapsulated in the FFP premium was estimated to range between AU$ 0.0108 and AU$ 0.0153, depending on the FFP status of a member. The airlines themselves value points in their financial statements at less than one one-thousandth of a cent per points. That loyalty points undoubtedly have an estimable monetary value is also reflected in the fact that some programs allow for the donation of frequent-flyer points to certain charities. The frequent flyer points accumulated through business trips are
1504-461: A major international carrier. In 1933, Aéropostale went bankrupt , was nationalized and merged into Air France . Although Germany lacked colonies, it also began expanding its services globally. In 1931, the airship Graf Zeppelin began offering regular scheduled passenger service between Germany and South America, usually every two weeks, which continued until 1937. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg entered passenger service and successfully crossed
1598-462: A member to use points to search for and purchase revenue tickets as if using cash. Depending on an airline's program, members can also redeem points toward cabin upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals, and purchase of various retail items. On American Airlines ' AAdvantage programme for example, it is possible to pay for a complete vacation package solely with points. Travelers frequently debate on how much accumulated points are worth, something which
1692-511: A member's status ascension (or retention) by reducing flight mileage requirements. Some carriers also require frequent flyers to spend a set amount of money on tickets before they are eligible for elite status. This is in addition to the miles-flown requirements that are already in place. Delta switched to revenue-based elite status requirements in January 2014, United in March 2015, with American Airlines
1786-638: A modification of a never-realized concept from 1979 that would have given special fares to frequent customers. It was quickly followed later that year by programs from United Airlines ( Mileage Plus ), Delta ( Delta Air Lines Frequent Flyer Program , which later changed to SkyMiles ), Continental Airlines ( OnePass ), Air Canada ( Aeroplan ), and in 1982 from British Airways ( Executive Club ). Frequent-flyer programs have grown since. In 2005, 163 million people were enrolled in frequent flyer programs from over 130 airlines. By then, 14 trillion frequent-flyer points had been accumulated by people worldwide, for
1880-589: A newly created Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB). The applications to DOT for reimbursements were subjected to rigorous multi-year reviews not only by DOT program personnel but also by the Government Accountability Office and the DOT Inspector General. Ultimately, the federal government provided $ 4.6 billion in one-time, subject-to-income-tax cash payments to 427 U.S. air carriers, with no provision for repayment, essentially
1974-540: A proving flight across the English Channel , despite a lack of support from the British government. Flown by Lt. H Shaw in an Airco DH.9 between RAF Hendon and Paris – Le Bourget Airport , the flight took 2 hours and 30 minutes at £21 per passenger. On August 25, 1919, the company used DH.16s to pioneer a regular service from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Paris's Le Bourget , the first regular international service in
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#17328557514932068-547: A reality. Concorde first flew in 1969 and operated through 2003. 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. Airbus also features modern electronic cockpits that were common across their aircraft to enable pilots to fly multiple models with minimal cross-training. The 1978 U.S. airline industry deregulation lowered federally controlled barriers for new airlines just as
2162-411: A representative sample of over 3300 members of that specific FFP showed that a large proportion of leisure and business travelers admitted a willingness to pay a higher fare—a FFP premium—to fly with the sponsoring airline because of their FFP membership. The average FFP premium was estimated to be around 8% and was statistically different between leisure and business travelers. The cash-equivalent value of
2256-500: A result of the terrorist attacks. This resulted in the first government bailout of the 21st century. Between 2000 and 2005 US airlines lost $ 30 billion with wage cuts of over $ 15 billion and 100,000 employees laid off. In recognition of the essential national economic role of a healthy aviation system, Congress authorized partial compensation of up to $ 5 billion in cash subject to review by the U.S. Department of Transportation and up to $ 10 billion in loan guarantees subject to review by
2350-467: A serious competitive threat to the legacy carriers. However, of these, ATA and Skybus have since ceased operations. Increasingly since 1978, US airlines have been reincorporated and spun off by newly created and internally led management companies, and thus becoming nothing more than operating units and subsidiaries with limited financially decisive control. Among some of these holding companies and parent companies which are relatively well known, are
2444-482: A value of 700 billion US dollars . When United Airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2002, its frequent flyer programme was its only money-making business. Tom Stuker is the world's most frequent flier having logged over 21 million miles with United. Most larger airlines around the world have frequent flyer programs; each has a programme name , and policies and restrictions regarding joining, accumulating, and redeeming points. The primary method of obtaining points in
2538-456: Is currently not taking place in the vast majority of countries - a notable exception however being Germany. One of the main arguments against the implementation of taxation is the lack of a monetary tax base. It can however be argued that since the cash-equivalent value of loyalty currency can be reasonably estimated with public data, this value is appropriate as a tax base. Hurdles preventing the taxation of FFP rewards are generally less related to
2632-471: Is highly variable based on how they are redeemed. An estimate is approximately one to two cents per point based on discount (rather than full fare) economy class travel costs. The author of an economics PhD thesis published in 2014 at Monash University , in Melbourne , Australia , examined the cash-equivalent value (purchasing power) of loyalty points, the impact of FFPs on consumer behavior and surplus, and
2726-557: The Farman F.60 Goliath plane flew scheduled services from Toussus-le-Noble to Kenley , near Croydon , England. Another early French airline was the Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes , established in 1919 by Louis-Charles Breguet , offering a mail and freight service between Le Bourget Airport , Paris and Lesquin Airport , Lille . The first German airline to use heavier than air aircraft
2820-626: 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. At the same time, Juan Trippe began
2914-686: The Tupolev Tu-104 . Deregulation of the European Union airspace in the early 1990s has had substantial effect on the structure of the industry there. The shift towards 'budget' airlines on shorter routes has been significant. Airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair have often grown at the expense of the traditional national airlines. There has also been a trend for these national airlines themselves to be privatized such as has occurred for Aer Lingus and British Airways . Other national airlines, including Italy's Alitalia , suffered – particularly with
Aer Lingus UK - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-638: The UAL Corporation , along with the AMR Corporation , among a long list of airline holding companies sometime recognized worldwide. Less recognized are the private-equity firms which often seize managerial, financial, and board of directors control of distressed airline companies by temporarily investing large sums of capital in air carriers, to rescheme an airlines assets into a profitable organization or liquidating an air carrier of their profitable and worthwhile routes and business operations. Thus
3102-748: The United States Army Air Service . Private operators were the first to fly the mail but due to numerous accidents the US Army was tasked with mail delivery. During 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 City and San Francisco . To supplement this service, they offered twelve contracts for spur routes to independent bidders. Some of
3196-623: The class of fare , distance flown on that airline or its partners, or the amount paid. There are other ways to earn points. For example, in recent years, more points have been earned by using co-branded credit and debit cards than by air travel. Another way to earn points is spending money at associated retail outlets , car hire companies, hotels , or other associated businesses. Points can be redeemed for air travel, other goods or services, or for increased benefits, such as travel class upgrades, airport lounge access, fast-track access, or priority bookings. Frequent-flyer programs can be seen as
3290-672: The regulatory body could end all; in 1999, S. Storm observed loyalty programs were forbidden in Denmark until 1992, instated then because Danish airlines were disadvantaged, as governments can forbid these programs at industry players request and the World Trade Organization could ban all programs. In the U.S. in 1989, Braniff wished for an end to unfair competition from frequent-flyer programs. Precedent exists for ending frequent-flyer programs. In 2002, Norway banned domestic loyalty programs to promote airline competition. In 2005,
3384-552: 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 . 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
3478-611: The Airbus A330-300 instead of the Airbus A321LR from April 2023. Subsequently, increasing capacity on this route, the returning of a second A330-300 to the UK fleet and the return of the A321LR to its Irish parent. Aer Lingus UK operates to the following destinations as of March 2023: As of April 2024, Aer Lingus UK operates the following aircraft: AerClub is Aer Lingus' frequent-flyer programme , which consists of four tiers:
3572-542: The Atlantic 36 times before crashing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937. In 1938, a weekly air service from Berlin to Kabul , Afghanistan , started operating. From February 1934 until World War II began in 1939, Deutsche Lufthansa operated an airmail service from Stuttgart , Germany via Spain , the Canary Islands and West Africa to Natal in Brazil . This was the first time an airline flew across an ocean. By
3666-794: The Australian federal government travel contract; this was put forward as a system requirement for the competing companies in order to win the contract. In the US, the General Services Administration has regulated, "frequent traveler benefits earned [by federal employees] in connection with official travel, [which] may be used only for official travel, see 41 C.F.R. § 301-1.6(f)." Frequent flyer programme contracts are not generally regulated. These programmes have been studied as anti-competitive practices : in 1989, M. Tretheway found competition prevented an airline to unilaterally end its program, but
3760-517: The Modernization Minister asked the competition authority to consider extending the Norwegian ban on frequent flyer miles to include all of Scandinavia. The country lifted the ban in 2013 when the competitive situation changed. Frequent-flyer programs have been receiving scrutiny because of the prevalence and rapid growth of air travel, in terms of both the frequency that individuals fly and
3854-753: The Russian Aeroflot (1923). Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s. Since the 1980s, there has been a trend of major airline mergers and the formation of airline alliances. The largest alliances are Star Alliance , SkyTeam and Oneworld . Airline alliances coordinate their passenger service programs (such as lounges and frequent-flyer programs ), offer special interline tickets and often engage in extensive codesharing (sometimes systemwide). DELAG , Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft I
Aer Lingus UK - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-493: The U.S. passenger market. Although Philippine Airlines (PAL) was officially founded on February 26, 1941, its license to operate as an airliner was derived from merged Philippine Aerial Taxi Company (PATCO) established by mining magnate Emmanuel N. Bachrach on 3 December 1930, making it Asia's oldest scheduled carrier still in operation. Commercial air service commenced three weeks later from Manila to Baguio , making it Asia's first airline route. Bachrach's death in 1937 paved
4042-573: The United States until its closure in 2008. Following World War I , the United States found itself swamped with aviators. Many decided to take their war-surplus aircraft on barnstorming campaigns, performing aerobatic 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
4136-511: The airline announced that the commencement of services to the United States would be postponed until 30 September 2021. This was due to international borders between the UK and the United States reopening later than expected. On 8 July 2021, Aer Lingus UK was granted its air operator's certificate (AOC) by the UK CAA . The airline also submitted its AOC to the USDOT for the approval of its application. In
4230-501: The airline's routes to New York JFK and Orlando launched in December 2021, plans for the airline's Boston services were dropped. In September 2022, Aer Lingus UK was the first airline to operate a flight into the then new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport. In October 2022, it was announced that Aer Lingus' operations between Belfast City and London Heathrow would transfer to Aer Lingus UK due to Brexit related requirements that
4324-723: The amount paid. For example, a number of airlines in Europe offer a fixed number of points for domestic or intra-European flights regardless of the distance (but varied according to class of travel). With the introduction of airline alliances and code-share flights , frequent-flyer programs are often extended to allow benefits to be used across partner airlines. Most, if not all, programs award bonus earnings to premium-cabin passengers and to their elite-status members based on tier status; earning an extra 25%-100% of miles flown are common bonuses. While these bonus points may not count toward ascension to (or retention of) elite status, they count toward
4418-464: The average domestic ticket price has dropped by 40%. So has airline employee pay. By incurring massive losses, the airlines of the USA now rely upon a scourge of cyclical Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to continue doing business. 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. In many ways,
4512-499: The biggest winner in the deregulated environment was the air passenger. Although not exclusively attributable to deregulation, indeed the U.S. witnessed an explosive growth in demand for air travel. 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
4606-406: The carriers that won these routes would, through time and mergers, evolve into Pan Am , Delta Air Lines , Braniff Airways , American Airlines , United Airlines (originally a division of Boeing ), Trans World Airlines , Northwest Airlines , and Eastern Air Lines . Service during the early 1920s was sporadic: most airlines at the time were focused on carrying bags of mail . In 1925, however,
4700-602: The company, or even that the rewards acts as a kind of bribe to encourage travelers to choose one particular airline or travel unnecessarily. Most companies consider the miles earned by their employees to be a valuable personal perk that in part compensates for the daily grind of frequent business travel, though some governmental organizations have attempted to prevent their employees from accumulating miles on official travel. Although it has long been recognized that FFP rewards earned on employer-funded business flights should be subject to either income or fringe-benefit taxation, this
4794-478: The country's flagship carrier to this day, on 17 May 1933. Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa was created in 1926 by merger of two airlines, one of them Junkers Luftverkehr . Lufthansa, due to the Junkers heritage and 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 among
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#17328557514934888-486: The days prior to receiving its AOC, the airline officially transferred one Airbus A330-300 from parent company Aer Lingus, with the transfer of one Airbus A321LR and a further Airbus A330-300 following. On 25 August 2021, the airline's services to the United States were again postponed to December 2021 as a result of the continued delay of UK-US border restrictions being lifted. The airline's services to Barbados were unaffected, which launched on 20 October 2021 as planned. While
4982-467: The domestic industry operates over 10,000 daily departures nationwide. 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 began to represent a serious challenge to the so-called "legacy airlines", as did their low-cost counterparts in many other countries. Their commercial viability represented
5076-502: The end of the 1930s Aeroflot had become the world's largest airline, employing more than 4,000 pilots and 60,000 other service personnel and operating around 3,000 aircraft (of which 75% were considered obsolete by its own standards). During the Soviet era Aeroflot was synonymous with Russian civil aviation, as it was the only air carrier. It became the first airline in the world to operate sustained regular jet services on 15 September 1956 with
5170-411: The entry-level Green, Silver, Platinum, and Concierge. The club uses Avios points as its member currency. Airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight . Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements , in which they both offer and operate
5264-604: The first flagships of the Jet Age in the West, while the Eastern bloc had Tupolev Tu-104 and Tupolev Tu-124 in the fleets of state-owned carriers such as Czechoslovak ČSA , Soviet Aeroflot and East-German Interflug . The Vickers Viscount and Lockheed L-188 Electra inaugurated turboprop transport. On 4 October 1958, British Overseas Airways Corporation started transatlantic flights between London Heathrow and New York Idlewild with
5358-513: 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. In fact, no U.S. legacy carrier survived bankruptcy-free. Among the outspoken critics of deregulation, former CEO of American Airlines, Robert Crandall has publicly stated: "Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing shows airline industry deregulation
5452-404: The last of the three US legacy carriers to switch on August 1, 2016. This has led to some frequent flyers devaluing those programs over others, as the changing model can be less rewarding to frequent flyers. To date no UK frequent flyer scheme has sought to operate in such a fashion, with both Virgin Atlantic and British Airways opting for the traditional method of granting tier points based on
5546-405: The major airlines implemented an equally high barrier called loss leader pricing. In this strategy an already established and dominant airline stomps out its competition by lowering airfares on specific routes, below the cost of operating on it, choking out any chance a start-up airline may have. The industry side effect is an overall drop in revenue and service quality. Since deregulation in 1978
5640-414: The member's total balance for normal redemption purposes. Some programs award a full 500 points (or a similar minimum credit guarantee) for non-stop flights spanning less than 500 miles. An airline's programme can either award this guarantee to all members regardless of elite status, or they can reserve this privilege only for their elite members. Many credit card companies partner with airlines to offer
5734-540: The merger of Instone Air Line Company , British Marine Air Navigation , Daimler Airway and Handley Page Transport , to allow British airlines to compete with stiff competition from French and German airlines that were enjoying heavy government subsidies. The airline was a pioneer in surveying and opening up air routes across the world to serve far-flung parts of the British Empire and to enhance trade and integration. The first new airliner ordered by Imperial Airways,
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#17328557514935828-509: The merger. PAL restarted service on 15 March 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. Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to be launched among the other Asian countries in 1946 along with Asiana Airlines , which later joined in 1988. The license to operate as an airliner
5922-483: The miles flown and class of travel. After accumulating a certain number of points, members then use these points to obtain airline tickets. However, points only pay for the base fare, with the member still responsible for the payment of mandatory taxes and fees. Although a controversial topic and a source of frustration among frequent flyers, award flights are still the primary commodity purchased by members using points. While alliances and partnerships have facilitated
6016-437: The miles they accrue are elite qualifying miles. A mileage run may allow a traveler to (re-)qualify for a beneficial elite level, which requires a minimum number of miles to qualify. Some airlines have changed their frequent flyer rules to award miles based on ticket expense rather than absolute distance traveled, which may remove the incentive for mileage runs. A status challenge can be an often non-publicized offer to accrue
6110-487: The most advanced in the world at the time. In 1926, Alan Cobham surveyed a flight route from the UK to Cape Town , South Africa , following this up with another proving flight to Melbourne , Australia . Other routes to British India and the Far East were also charted and demonstrated at this time. Regular services to Cairo and Basra began in 1927 and were extended to Karachi in 1929. The London- Australia service
6204-636: 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. In the 1950s, the De Havilland Comet , Boeing 707 , Douglas DC-8 , and Sud Aviation Caravelle became
6298-411: The passenger cabins were often spacious with luxurious interiors – over speed and efficiency. The relatively basic navigational capabilities of pilots at the time also meant that delays due to the weather were commonplace. By the early 1920s, small airlines were struggling to compete, and there was a movement towards increased rationalization and consolidation. In 1924, Imperial Airways was formed from
6392-428: The passenger points with the airline flown. Frequent-flyer programs may offer points through other means, such as purchasing food or merchandise sold by an affiliated company. American engineer David Phillips gained attention in 2000 for purchasing $ 3,140 of Healthy Choice pudding to earn him 1,253,000 AAdvantage miles. Occasionally, airlines may offer double elite-qualifying mile (EQM) promotions, which speeds up
6486-637: The rapid increase of oil prices in early 2008. Finnair , the largest airline of Finland , had no fatal or hull-loss accidents since 1963, and is recognized for its safety. Tony Jannus conducted the United States' first scheduled commercial airline flight on January 1, 1914, for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line . The 23-minute flight traveled between St. Petersburg, Florida and Tampa, Florida , passing some 50 feet (15 m) above Tampa Bay in Jannus' Benoist XIV wood and muslin biplane flying boat. His passenger
6580-480: The redemption process for some programs, award seat availability is still subject to blackout dates and seasonal fluctuations, as airlines utilize statistics, yield management , and capacity-control formulas to determine the number of seats to allocate for award booking. This lack of availability has since been alleviated by non-airline rewards programs, such as certain credit cards ( see above ) and other corporate programs ( Expedia Rewards, Marriott ) by allowing
6674-644: The regional market of Asian airline industry India was also one of the first countries to embrace civil aviation. One of the first Asian airline companies was Air India , which was founded as Tata Airlines in 1932, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group ). The airline was founded by India's leading industrialist, JRD Tata . On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata himself flew a single engined De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperial Airways ) from Karachi to Bombay via Ahmedabad . The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vintcent . Tata Airlines
6768-399: The same day, from almost any point in the country. Air travel's advantages put long-distance intercity railroad travel and bus lines under pressure, with most of the latter having withered away, whilst the former is still protected under nationalization through the continuing existence of Amtrak . By the 1980s, almost half of the total flying in the world took place in the U.S., and today
6862-548: The same flight. Generally, airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body. Airlines may be scheduled or charter operators. The first airline was the German airship company DELAG , founded on November 16, 1909. The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1920) and
6956-563: The taxation issues surrounding FFPs. Unlike most previous research on FFPs, this research used data from an actual FFP. The cash-equivalent value of a loyalty point in 2010 was estimated to range between AU$ 0.0066 and AU$ 0.0084. This range, however, excluded the value of status benefits to the status member. The loyalty point gained by a FFP member per flight equated to an in-kind discount on an average airfare of 3.3% for lowest status members, 3.96% for medium status members and 4.63% for premium status members. A detailed survey undertaken in 2010 among
7050-418: The technical issue of valuation, but have more to do with legal constraints (e.g. "who owns the points") and often a lack of political will (e.g. "who would lose out due to taxation"). Australian and German public servants are not permitted to redeem points accrued from official travel for private purposes. The Australian example occurred in the 1990s when Qantas and the now-defunct Ansett Australia competed for
7144-453: The tendency toward longer distance travel. In 2011, S. Cohen observed both air travel and concern over its climate impacts were growing, balanced by technology and physical resources, self and external regulation and social norms including stigmatisation of excessive air travel. In 2009, Stefan Gössling pointed out the conflict caused by air travel growth in a carbon-constrained world, with a minority of hypermobile individuals responsible for
7238-675: The void left by Manchester-based and headquartered Thomas Cook Airlines , which ceased operations in September 2019. In December 2020, the airline applied with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for a foreign air carrier permit, which was approved in March 2021. Parent company Aer Lingus subsequently announced on 24 March 2021 that flights from Manchester Airport operated by Aer Lingus UK would launch to New York JFK and Orlando on 29 July 2021, to Barbados on 20 October 2021, and to Boston during summer 2022. In June 2021,
7332-560: The way for its eventual merger with Philippine Airlines in March 1941 and made it Asia's oldest airline. It is also the oldest airline in Asia still operating under its current name. Bachrach's majority share in PATCO was bought by beer magnate Andres R. Soriano in 1939 upon the advice of General Douglas MacArthur and later merged with newly formed Philippine Airlines with PAL as the surviving entity. Soriano has controlling interest in both airlines before
7426-424: The world. Established by aviator Albert Plesman , it was immediately awarded a "Royal" predicate from Queen Wilhelmina . Its first flight was from Croydon Airport , London to Amsterdam , using a leased Aircraft Transport and Travel DH-16 , and carrying two British journalists and a number of newspapers. In 1921, KLM started scheduled services. In Finland , the charter establishing Aero O/Y (now Finnair )
7520-533: The world. The airline soon gained a reputation for reliability, despite problems with bad weather, and began to attract European competition. In November 1919, it won the first British civil airmail contract. Six Royal Air Force Airco DH.9A aircraft were lent to the company, to operate the airmail service between Hawkinge and Cologne . In 1920, they were returned to the Royal Air Force. Other British competitors were quick to follow – Handley Page Transport
7614-403: Was Aircraft Transport and Travel , formed by George Holt Thomas in 1916; via a series of takeovers and mergers, this company is an ancestor of modern-day British Airways . Using a fleet of former military Airco DH.4 A biplanes that had been modified to carry two passengers in the fuselage , it operated relief flights between Folkestone and Ghent , Belgium. On July 15, 1919, the company flew
7708-512: Was Deutsche Luft-Reederei established in 1917 which started operating in February 1919. In its first year, the D.L.R. operated regularly scheduled flights on routes with a combined length of nearly 1000 miles. By 1921 the D.L.R. network was more than 3000 km (1865 miles) long, and included destinations in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the Baltic Republics. Another important German airline
7802-450: Was Junkers Luftverkehr , which began operations in 1921. It was a division of the aircraft manufacturer Junkers , which became a separate company in 1924. It operated joint-venture airlines in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. The Dutch airline KLM made its first flight in 1920, and is the oldest continuously operating airline in
7896-517: Was a former mayor of St. Petersburg, who paid $ 400 for the privilege of sitting on a wooden bench in the open cockpit. The Airboat line operated for about four months, carrying more than 1,200 passengers who paid $ 5 each. Chalk's International Airlines began service between Miami and Bimini in the Bahamas in February 1919. Based in Ft. Lauderdale , Chalk's claimed to be the oldest continuously operating airline in
7990-622: Was a mistake." Congress passed the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (P.L. 107–42) in response to a severe liquidity crisis facing the already-troubled airline industry in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks . Through the ATSB Congress sought to provide cash infusions to carriers for both the cost of the four-day federal shutdown of the airlines and the incremental losses incurred through December 31, 2001, as
8084-571: Was also one of the world's first major airlines which began its operations without any support from the Government. Frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer programme ( FFP ) is a loyalty program offered by an airline . Many airlines have frequent-flyer programmes designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the programme to accumulate points (also called miles, kilometers, or segments) which may then be redeemed for air travel or other rewards. Points earned under FFPs may be based on
8178-476: Was created in 1972 by Western Direct Marketing for United. It gave plaques and promotional materials to members. In 1979, Texas International Airlines created the first frequent-flyer programme that used mileage tracking to give 'rewards' to its passengers, while in 1980 Western Airlines created its Travel Bank, which ultimately became part of Delta Air Lines ' programme upon their merger in 1987. American Airlines ' AAdvantage programme launched in 1981 as
8272-418: Was established in 1919 and used the company's converted wartime Type O/400 bombers with a capacity for 12 passengers, to run a London - Paris passenger service. The first French airline was Société des lignes Latécoère , later known as Aéropostale, which started its first service in late 1918 to Spain. The Société Générale des Transports Aériens was created in late 1919, by the Farman brothers and
8366-450: Was granted by the federal government body after reviewing the necessity at the national assembly. The Hanjin occupies the largest ownership of Korean Air as well as few low-budget airlines as of now. Korean Air is one of the four founders of SkyTeam , which was established in 2000. Asiana Airlines joined Star Alliance in 2003. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines comprise one of the largest combined airline miles and number of passenger served at
8460-474: Was inaugurated in 1932 with the Handley Page HP 42 airliners. Further services were opened up to Calcutta , Rangoon , Singapore , Brisbane and Hong Kong passengers departed London on 14 March 1936 following the establishment of a branch from Penang to Hong Kong. France began an air mail service to Morocco in 1919 that was bought out in 1927, renamed Aéropostale , and injected with capital to become
8554-592: 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. In the Soviet Union , the Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet was established in 1921. One of its first acts
8648-605: Was the Handley Page W8f City of Washington , delivered on 3 November 1924. In the first year of operation the company carried 11,395 passengers and 212,380 letters. In April 1925, the film The Lost World became the first film to be screened for passengers on a scheduled airliner flight when it was shown on the London-Paris route. Two French airlines also merged to form Air Union on 1 January 1923. This later merged with four other French airlines to become Air France ,
8742-581: Was the world's first airline . It was founded on November 16, 1909, with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by The Zeppelin Corporation . Its headquarters were in Frankfurt . The first fixed-wing scheduled airline was started on January 1, 1914. The flight was piloted by Tony Jannus and flew from St. Petersburg, Florida , to Tampa, Florida , operated by the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line . The earliest fixed wing airline in Europe
8836-404: Was to help found Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs A.G. (Deruluft), a German-Russian joint venture to provide air transport from Russia to the West. Domestic air service began around the same time, when Dobrolyot started operations on 15 July 1923 between Moscow and Nizhni Novgorod. Since 1932 all operations had been carried under the name Aeroflot . Early European airlines tended to favor comfort –
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