List of airlines by foundation date

Airline	Established	Ceased operations	Notes
DELAG			The world's first airline in revenue service. Operated Zeppelin airships. Merged with Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei in 1935, which continued transatlantic flights until the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Company dissolved in 1940.
Aero Rt.			Merged with Magyar Aeroforgalmi Rt
St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line			First winged airline. See Thomas Reilly, Jannus: An American Flyer
Aircraft Transport and Travel			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			Started scheduled service between Florida and the Bahamas in February 1919; Became Chalk's International Airlines.
Deutsche Luft-Reederei			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			Founding member of IATA
Det Danske Luftfartselskab			Services started August 7, 1920. Part of SAS since 1946.
Société des lignes Latécoère			Services started December 25, 1918; rebranded as Aéropostale in 1927; its assets were incorporated into Air France in 1933
Svensk Lufttrafik			Services started 7 August 1920
Lignes Aériennes Farman			Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
Société Générale des Transports Aériens			Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
Grands Express Aériens			Merged with Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes to form Air Union.
SNETA			Merged into Sabena.
Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes			Merged with Grands Express Aériens to form Air Union.
Daimler Airway			Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Compañía Colombiana de Navegación Aérea CCNA			First airline in Colombia with mail contract with Colombian Government.
KLM		Still in operation	During World War II, all operations were suspended in Europe, but continued on a limited basis in the Dutch Antilles. Merged with Air France in 2004. The airline is the "Oldest operating airline by date".
Avianca	'	Still in operation	Established as SCADTA in 1919. Renamed as Avianca as a result of a merger between SCADTA and SACO in 1940.
Handley Page Transport			Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Instone Air Line			Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Aero			Merged with Norske Aeroplanfabrik
/ CFRNA			Renamed CIDNA in 1925; the French arm was merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France; the Romanian arm was renamed LARES.
Qantas		Still in operation	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 operating airline by date" and the "Second oldest continuously operating airline".
Aeronaut			Operated the routes: Tallinn-Helsinki, Tallinn-Stockholm, Tallinn-Riga-Königsberg and Tallinn-Tartu-Viljandi-Pärnu. Stopped operations in 1927 due to financial problems.
Aerotarg			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			Suspended operations indefinitely. MRO still operational.
/ Deruluft			Joint German-Soviet airline.
West Australian Airways			Became part of Australian National Airways.
Aeromarine West Indies Airways			Services started 1 November 1920; first U.S. international air service
Junkers Luftverkehr			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
Aerolloyd			Name changed to Aerolot in 1925; merged with other privately owned airlines in Poland formed LOT Polish Airlines.
Malert			Fore-runner of Malev Hungarian Airlines.
Air Union			Merged with 4 other airlines to form Air France.
/ Aeroflot		Still in operation	Founded as Dobrolyot, name changed to Aeroflot in 1932.
SABENA			Succeeded by SN Brussels Airlines, which became Brussels Airlines. MRO still operational.
British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd			Merged with 3 other airlines to form Imperial Airways.
Czech Airlines		Still in operation	Founded as Czechoslovak State Airlines, name changed to Czech Airlines in 1995.
Finnair		Still in operation	Founded as Aero O/Y, name changed to Finnair in 1968.
Florida Airways
Ukrvozdukhput			Merged with Zakavia and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.
Zakavia			Merged with Ukrvozdukhput and Deruluft to form Dobrolyot, forerunner of Aeroflot.
Valsts gaisa satiksme			Operated route Riga-Liepaja.
/ Condor Syndikat			German-based Brazilian airline; absorbed into Deutsche Luft Hansa
AB Aerotransport			Formed SAS.
/ Tajik Air		Still in operation	Founded as a division of Aeroflot in Tajik ASSR, became independent in 1991.
Imperial Airways			Amalgamated to form British Overseas Airways Corporation - itself merged to found British Airways.
/ Slov-Air			Founded as a department of Bata Shoes; name changed to Svitlet in 1948, to Agrolet in 1950, and to Slov-Air in 1969.
Aero			Merged with Aerolot formed LOT Polish Airlines.
Ryan Airline Company			Name changed to B. F. Mahoney Aircraft Corporation.
Delta Air Lines		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.
National Air Transport			Became part of United Airlines following Air Mail Act of 1934.
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano			Former flag carrier of Bolivia; replaced by Boliviana de Aviación.
Unión Aérea Española			Merged with Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas following Wall Street Crash of 1929.
Ford Air Transport Service			The world's first regularly-scheduled commercial cargo airline.
Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea			Merged with 3 other airlines to form Ala Littoria.
Western Airlines			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.
Pacific Air Transport			Merged into Boeing Air Transport, but continued to operate as a separate division until 1934.
Deutsche Luft Hansa		22.04.1945	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			Amalgamated with several Eastern Canadian carriers forming Canadian Airways.
Varney Air Lines			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		Still in operation
Eastern Air Lines			Started Operations in 1926 as. Until 1929 changed to "Eastern Air Transport" now Eastern Air Lines until 1991.
Northwest Airlines			Merged with Delta Air Lines.
Colonial Air Transport			Formed American Airlines.
Pan American World Airways			Founded by Juan T. Trippe and began operations in 1927 as Pan American Airways. Former 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			New airline formed with the same name in 2006 and eventually sold to Gol Transportes Aéreos.
/// Air Serbia		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.
Iberia		Still in operation	Merged with British Airways to form International Airlines Group in January 2011
Maddux Air Lines			Merged with TAT to form TAT-Maddux Air Lines, itself merged to form T & WA.
Bunavad			First national airline of Bulgaria.
Cruzeiro do Sul			Founded as Syndicato Condor; name changed to Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943; merged with Varig in 1993.
Grand Canyon Airlines		Still in operation	Founded as Scenic Airways; name changed to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930.
Standard Air Lines			Sold off to Western Air Express, itself merged to form T & WA.
National Parks Airways			Bought out by Western Air Express.
/ Wien Air Alaska			First airline in Alaska.
MacRobertson Miller Airlines			Absorbed into Ansett.
Paul R. Braniff, Inc.			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			First operated as KNILM. KNILM dissolved and transferred to KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf
Universal Air Lines			Merged with other companies to form American Airlines.
ETA			Ceased operations due to administrative difficulties.
Faucett Perú
Japan Air Transport			Merged into Imperial Japanese Airways.
Mid-Continent Airlines			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			Merged with Western Air Express to form Transcontinental & Western Air in 1930; renamed Trans World Airlines in 1950; merged into American Airlines in 2001.
LOT Polish Airlines		Still in operation	Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT created by the Polish government they have absorbed airlines Aerolot and Aero.
/ Hawaiian Airlines		Still in operation	Incorporated January 30, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways. Began service October 6, 1929. Name changed to Hawaiian Airlines October 1, 1941.
LATAM Chile		Still in operation	Began as Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica. It took the name Línea Aérea Nacional de 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.
Concesionaria de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas			Ceased operations due to the Spanish Civil War.
Aeropostal		Still in operation	Founded as Linea Aeropostal Venezolana LAV, name changed to Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela in 1997 after privatization.
Pan American-Grace Airways			Joint venture between Pan Am and Grace Shipping Company; merged into Braniff in 1969.
Cubana		Still in operation
Panair do Brasil			Founded as Nyrba do Brasil. Name changed to Panair do Brasil in 1930. Bankruptcy forced by the Brazilian Militar Dictatorship Government.
Wiggins Airways'		Still in operation''
Union Airways			First South African airline; taken over by the government and renamed South African Airways.
Australian National Airways
Trans World Airlines			Acquired by American Airlines.
Aviaarktika			Absorbed into Aeroflot.
Braniff International Airways Inc.		-
New England & Western Air Transportation Co.
South West African Airways			First commercial air service in South West Africa