List of airlines by foundation date

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	November 16, 1909	March 21, 1935	German Empire/ Weimar Republic	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.	December 22, 1910	1920	Hungary	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	1913	May 5, 1914	United States	First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer
Aircraft Transport and Travel	October 5, 1916	February 20, 1921	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	1917	2007	United States	Started scheduled service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919; Became Chalk's International Airlines.
Deutsche Luft-Reederei	December 1917	1923	German Empire/ Weimar Republic	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	1918	1921	Norway	Founding member of IATA
Det Danske Luftfartselskab	October 29, 1918	1951	Denmark	Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946.
Société des lignes Latécoère	December 25, 1918	September 19, 1933	France	Services started December 25, 1918; rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927; its assets were incorporated into Air France in 1933
Svensk Lufttrafik	February 7, 1919	1921	Sweden	Services started 7 August 1920
Lignes Aériennes Farman	February 8, 1919	October 7, 1933	France	Merged with four other airlines to form Air France.
Société Générale des Transports Aériens	February 8, 1919	October 8, 1933	France	Merged with four other airlines to form Air France.
Grands Express Aériens	March 20, 1919	January 1, 1923	France	Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union.
SNETA	March 31, 1919	May 23, 1923	Belgium	Merged into Sabena.
Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes	April 18, 1919	January 1, 1923	France	Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union.
Daimler Airway	June 7, 1919	April 1, 1924	United Kingdom	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea – CCNA	September 26, 1919	July 17, 1922	Colombia	First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government.
KLM	October 7, 1919	Still in operation	Netherlands	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. Merged with Air France in 2004 to form Air France–KLM. The airline is the "Oldest operating airline".
SCADTA Avianca	December 5, 1919	June 14, 1940 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	1919	March 31, 1924	United Kingdom	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Handley Page Indo-Burmese transport	1919	1921	India	First airline in India (then under British rule).
Instone Air Line	1919	March 31, 1924	United Kingdom	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
A/S Aero	January 1920	1921	Norway	Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik
CFRNA	January 20, 1920	October 7, 1933	France/ Kingdom of Romania	Renamed CIDNA in 1925; the French arm was merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France; the Romanian arm was renamed LARES.
Qantas	November 16, 1920	Still in operation	Australia	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. The airline is the "Third oldest airline by foundation date" and the "Oldest airline in the English-speaking world".
Aeronaut	March 22, 1921	January 11, 1927	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	May 10, 1921	June 19, 1921	Poland	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	July 12, 1921	August 28, 2010	Mexico	Suspended operations indefinitely. MRO still operational. Brand was revived during 2023.
Deruluft	November 24, 1921	March 31, 1937	Weimar Republic/ Soviet Union	Joint German-Soviet airline.
West Australian Airways	December 5, 1921	June 12, 1936	Australia	Became part of Australian National Airways.
Aeromarine West Indies Airways	1921	1924	United States	Services started 1 November 1920; first U.S. international air service
Junkers Luftverkehr	1921	1926	Weimar Republic	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	China	Founded by warlord Cao Kun with a single Handley Page aircraft, likely a modified HP O/400; fatally crashed in Beijing 3 days later.
Aerolloyd	June 3, 1922	December 28, 1929	Poland	Name changed to Aerolot in 1925; merged with other privately owned airlines in Poland formed LOT Polish Airlines.
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	November 19, 1922	1944	Hungary	Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines.
Air Union	January 1, 1923	October 7, 1933	France	Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
Aeroflot	February 3, 1923	Still in operation	Soviet Union/Russia	Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932.
SABENA	May 23, 1923	February 2002	Belgium	Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines, which became Brussels Airlines. MRO still operational.
British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd	August 1923	March 31, 1924	United Kingdom	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Czech Airlines	October 6, 1923	October 26, 2024	Czechoslovakia/Czechia	Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995.
Finnair	November 1, 1923	Still in operation	Finland	Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968.
Florida Airways	1923	1927	United States
Ukrpovitroshliakh	June 1, 1923	1929	Soviet Union	Merged with Zakavia and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.
Zakavia	1923	1929	Soviet Union	Merged with Ukrvozdukhput and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.
Condor Syndikat	May 5, 1924	July 1, 1927	Weimar Republic/ Brazil	German-based Brazilian airline; absorbed into Deutsche Luft Hansa
AB Aerotransport	June 2, 1924	October 1, 1950	Sweden	Formed SAS.
Tajik Air	September 3, 1924	Still in operation	Soviet Union/Tajikistan	Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991.
Imperial Airways	March 31, 1924	November 24, 1939	United Kingdom	Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways.
Slov-Air	1924	2001	Czechoslovakia/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	February 1925	December 28, 1929	Poland	Merged with Aerolot formed LOT Polish Airlines.
Ryan Airline Company	April 19, 1925	1926	United States	Name changed to B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation.
Delta Air Lines	March 2, 1925	Still in operation	United States	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	May 21, 1925	1934	United States	Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934.
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano	September 15, 1925	2010	Bolivia	Former flag carrier of Bolivia; replaced by Boliviana de Aviación.
Unión Aérea Española	1925	1929	Spain	Merged with Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas following Wall Street Crash of 1929.
Ford Air Transport Service	1925	1932	United States	The world's first regularly-scheduled commercial cargo airline.
Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea	1925	1934	Kingdom of Italy	Merged with 3 other airlines to form Ala Littoria.
Western Airlines	1925	April 1, 1987	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. Los Angeles-San Diego Air Line started service in 1925 with Ryan modified Davis-Douglas Cloudster.
Pacific Air Transport	January 1926	December 17, 1928	United States	Merged into Boeing Air Transport, but continued to operate as a separate division until 1934.
Deutsche Luft Hansa	January 6, 1926	April 22, 1945	Weimar Republic/ Nazi Germany	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	March 1926	1930	Canada	Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways.
Varney Air Lines	April 6, 1926	May 1934	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	April 15, 1926	Still in operation	United States
Eastern Air Lines	April 19, 1926	January 17, 1991	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. Brand relaunched again in 2018.
Northwest Airlines	September 10, 1926	January 31, 2010	United States	Merged with Delta Air Lines.
Colonial Air Transport	1926	1930	United States	Formed American Airlines.
Pan American World Airways	March 14, 1927	December 4, 1991	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. 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	May 7, 1927	July 20, 2006	Brazil	New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos.
Air Serbia	June 17, 1927	Still in operation	Kingdom of Yugoslavia/ Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/ Serbia and Montenegro/ 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	June 28, 1927	Still in operation	Spain	Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group (IAG) in January 2011.
Maddux Air Lines	September 22, 1927	November 16, 1929	United States	Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA.
Grand Canyon Airlines	October 3, 1927	Still in operation	United States	Founded as Scenic Airways; name changed to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930.
Bunavad	October 25, 1927	1930	Kingdom of Bulgaria	First national airline of Bulgaria.
Cruzeiro do Sul	December 1, 1927	January 1, 1993	Brazil	Founded as Syndicato Condor; name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943; merged with Varig in 1993.
Standard Air Lines	1927	March 1930	United States	Sold off to Western Air Express, itself merged to form T & WA.
National Parks Airways	1927	1937	United States	Bought out by Western Air Express.
Wien Air Alaska	1927	November 23, 1984	United States	First airline in Alaska.
MacRobertson Miller Airlines	1927	1993	Australia	Absorbed into Ansett.
Paul R. Braniff, Inc.	May 29, 1928	March 1929	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	July 16, 1928	August 1, 1947	Dutch East Indies/ Indonesia	First operated as KNILM. KNILM dissolved and transferred to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf (today Garuda Indonesia)
Universal Air Lines	July 30, 1928	1934	United States	Merged with other companies to form American Airlines.
ETA	August 10, 1928	November 16, 1929	Brazil	Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties.
British Columbia Airways	August 16, 1928	August 25, 1928	Canada	Had a single Ford 4-AT Trimotor which crashed.
Faucett Perú	September 15, 1928	December 3, 1997	Peru
Japan Air Transport	October 28, 1928	1938	Empire of Japan	Merged into Imperial Japanese Airways.
Mid-Continent Airlines	1928	August 26, 1952	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	1928	1930	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	December 29, 1928	Still in operation	Poland	Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government they have absorbed airlines Aerolot (1922) and Aero (1925).
Hawaiian Airlines	January 30, 1929	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. Since September 18, 2024, Hawaiian Airlines still operates as a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group.
LATAM Chile	March 5, 1929	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.
CLASSA – Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas	May 13, 1929	July 18, 1936	Spain	Ceased operations due to the Spanish Civil War.
Aeropostal	July 3, 1929	Still in operation	Venezuela	Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization.
Pan American-Grace Airways	September 13, 1929	February 1, 1969	United States	Joint venture between Pan Am and Grace Shipping Company; merged into Braniff in 1969.
Cubana de Aviación	October 8, 1929	Still in operation	Cuba
Panair do Brasil	October 22, 1929	February 16, 1965	Brazil	Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Militar Dictatorship Government.
Wiggins Airways	1929	June 1, 2024	United States	Purchased by Ameriflight in 2014, it was formally made a division of Ameriflight on June 1st 2024.
Union Airways	July 24, 1929	January 31, 1934	Union of South Africa	First South African airline; taken over by the government and renamed South African Airways.
Australian National Airways	1929	1931	Australia
Trans World Airlines	July 16, 1930	December 1, 2001	United States	Acquired by American Airlines.
China National Aviation Corporation	August 1, 1930	July 17, 1952	Republic of China/ People's Republic of China	Merged with CATC to form CAAC Airlines.
Aviaarktika	September 1, 1930	January 3, 1960	Soviet Union	Absorbed into Aeroflot.
Braniff International Airways	November 13, 1930	May 12/May 13, 1982	United States
New England & Western Air Transportation Co.	1930	1930	United States
South West African Airways	1930	1935	South West Africa	First commercial air service in South West Africa (Namibia)

For airlines founded after 1930 see Category: Airlines by year of establishment