Although flying might seem like a thoroughly modern mode of transport, commercial air travel has been around for more than 100 years. From the early days of flight and the "golden age of travel,’ to modern-day budget airlines and the current regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air travel has changed considerably over the past century. From a modest seaplane carrying a single passenger between the Florida cities of Tampa and St Petersburg in just over 20 minutes, a new age of travel was on the horizon. That lone traveler over a century ago spawned the creation of a burgeoning global industry. Total annual passenger numbers surpassed the three billion mark for the first time in 2013. Just three years later, 3.8 billion traveled by air and by 2019 the number grew to 4.5 billion. The International Air Transport Association expects that number to double over the course of the next twenty years. Throughout the past century, any number of air carriers have come and gone but a handful may still be found in our skies. That’s no small feat considering the ebb and flow characteristic of the aviation industry. So, let’s take a look at six of the earliest pioneers which are still in business today, along with some fun facts regarding each of these storied carriers.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the oldest airline in the world. Established in 1919, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij
had its inaugural flight the following year. (You can see why KLM is preferable for those of us who don’t speak Dutch.) In 1924 the airline made history preparing to fly a Fokker FVII from Amsterdam to Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies At 7,062 miles, this would easily qualify as just another long-haul route today. But it was an extraordinary achievement at the time. With a Captain, First Offer and Flight Engineer, the aircraft set off amid cheering crowds of well wishers from Schipol Airport on October 1, 1924. After flying more than 9,320 miles in 55 days, clocking 127 flight hours and numerous intermediate stopovers, the plane touched down in Jakarta on November 24. The three pioneers were given a hero’s welcome as they demonstrated that it was possible to bridge such a long distance by air. After the Second World War, KLM became the first European airline to schedule regular flights to New York. Merging with Air France in 2004, the company maintains its headquarters in Amsterdam and today operates a fleet of 110 aircraft. These include Boeing B737 narrow bodies, and Airbus A330, B777 and B787 planes used primarily on their long-haul routes.
Avianca
Only several months younger than KLM, Avianca is the world’s second-oldest airline. Based in Bogota, Columbia, it is the oldest operating airline in the Americas. Prior to World War II, the airline was called SCADTA for Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transportes Aéreos, which in English translates to Columbian-German Air Transport Company. Entrepreneurial German ex-pats helped found the business in 1919. The carrier made its inaugural flight on September 5, 1920 between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia using a Junkers F-13, transporting just fifty-seven pieces of mail. The flight was piloted by German Hellmuth von Krohn. There were nine aircraft in the early fleet, each with a total range of 528 miles carrying up to four passengers and two crewmen. Due to the topographic characteristics of the country and the lack of airports at the time, floats were adapted for two of the aircraft to make water landings in the rivers near different towns. Using these floats, von Krohn was able to perform the first inland flight over Colombia on October 20, 1920, following the course of the Magdelena River. The flight took eight hours and required four emergency landings in the water. Avianca has come a long way since then and became an official member of Star Alliance in June of 2012, after a process that lasted approximately eighteen months.
Qantas
Queensland and Northern Territories Aerial Services, “Qantas” for short, is an Australian airline. Based in Sydney, it was established in 1920 to connect the less populated areas of the vast Australian Continent with the rest of the country. But, by 1935, Qantas began offering international flights as well. The carrier’s current logo first appeared in 1944 and earned the company its nickname, “The Flying Kangaroo.” Its service, however, has earned Qantas the distinction of being one of the best and safest airlines in the world as they have never had a fatal jet accident! The airline has been active in recent years in “pushing the envelope” for commercial aviation. In March of 2018, a Qantas Boeing B787, a scheduled, non-stop commercial flight between Australia and Europe, connected the two continents by air for the first time, with the inaugural arrival in London of QF 9, a 17-hour, 9,009-mile journey from Perth Airport in Western Australia to London Heathrow. In pursuit of its “Project Sunrise,” in October of 2019, Qantas Airways completed the longest commercial flight to date between New York City and Sydney using a Boeing B787–9 Dreamliner, which made the 9,950 mile journey in19 hours and 20 minutes. The name "Project Sunrise" was inspired by clandestine World War II flights that were made from Perth to Sri Lanka en route to London. They were fraught with danger, and lasted so long they saw two sunrises!
Aeroflot
Meaning “air fleet” in Russian, Aeroflot is the next oldest airline as its first flight took off in 1923. Back in the 1920s, the airline operated under the name Dobrolet, which means “volunteer.” Shortly after its name change in 1932, Aeroflot became the largest airline in the world. Like all things Russian, the airline has been in the news lately following the country’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine in late February. Current sanctions have forced Russia’s flagship airline to announce a recent end to almost all of its international flights. It now only flies to neighboring Belarus, one of Russia’s few European allies in its war against Ukraine. Before the sanctions, Aeroflot used to fly to 148 cities around the world. It’s now believed the airline fears that the planes it owns could be impounded on arrival in other countries. What happens next to the planes that the carrier has leased from foreign companies but are sitting on the tarmac at Russian airports remains unclear. Much like the former Soviet Union, Aeroflot got divided up into a number of smaller airlines during the 1990s, only to be reorganized later into one conglomerate. Moscow, the Russian capital, is also home to the carrier’s headquarters.
Czech Airlines
Created in 1923 to be the national airline for the newly created country of Czechoslovakia, Czech Airlines was the first to fly all jets between Prague and Moscow. Abbreviated as ČSA, the airline was also the first to fall victim to a hijacking. In 1950, eight Czech defectors diverted three of the carrier’s aircraft to Nuremberg, West Germany. Some of the unwitting passengers returned to communist Czechoslovakia where they were hailed as heroes while others requested political asylum in allied-controlled West Germany. After the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation, the airline in May of 1995 adopted its present name. By the late 1990s, most of its former Soviet aircraft had either been sold to other airlines or retired, replaced with Western models such as the Boeing B737, Airbus A310 and Airbus A320. ČSA became a full member of the Sky Team alliance in October of 2000. The pandemic and the economic downturn for airlines worldwide found ČSA filing for bankruptcy in March of last year, but restructuring negotiations with creditors continue and the airline still operates flights to a limited number of destinations.
Finnair
The official carrier of no less a celebrity than “Santa Claus,” as they regularly fly over the North Pole, Finnair has been operating since 1923. For its first twelve years of existence, Finnair remained a humble private airline that flew only seaplanes. Then in 1952, the Olympic Games were held in Helsinki. The capital city got its own airport, which became Finnair’s main hub, and the company welcomed approximately 100,000 additional passengers. After the Soviet Baltic states gained their independence from Moscow in 1990, Finnair stepped in to help establish an Estonian airline company. The airline soon had distinguished service and air safety records, and maintained one of the most modern air fleets in Europe. It existed under the majority control of the government of Finland, with the remaining shares in the hands of banks and other institutional investment interests. Now part of the global OneWorld Alliance, Finnair operates passenger and air freight services throughout Finland and the Baltic region. They also provide regular and seasonal service to Europe, North America, and Asia. The airline's route network for scheduled air traffic includes 16 domestic and 50 international destinations and it is today a strong and respected member of the international airline industry.
All of the carriers reviewed date back to the early years of the Twentieth Century and have witnessed the growth of commercial aviation from a novelty in its early years to a mainstay of transportation today. Before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, over 4.5 billion people flew around the world for business, pleasure, and everything in between. With increased rates of inoculation and improved therapies, it appears that air travel is on the rebound, boding well for the future of most of the world’s airlines.
Until next time…safe travels.
Very interesting - I would never have guessed any of the early pioneer airlines. Need to make notes for the next Pub Quiz!
Interesting to recognize the longevity of these airlines. So many others are no longer in business.