Editing Airline (section)

===Europe===
====Beginnings====
[[File:Klm-poster-1919.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1919 advertisement for the Dutch airline [[KLM]], founded on October 7, 1919, the [[List of airlines by foundation date|oldest running airline still operating under its original name]]]]

[[File:Tanken van een vliegtuig Airplane provided with fuel.jpg|thumb|The [[Handley Page Type W|Handley Page W.8b]] was used by [[Handley Page Transport]], an early British airline established in 1919.]]
The earliest fixed wing airline in Europe 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 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 [[Airco DH.16|DH.16s]] to pioneer a regular service from [[Hounslow Heath Aerodrome]] to Paris's [[Paris–Le Bourget Airport|Le Bourget]], the first regular international service in 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.<ref>''The Putnam Aeronautical Review'' edited by John Motum, p170 Volume one 1990 Naval Institute Press</ref>

Other British competitors were quick to follow – [[Handley Page Transport]] was established in 1919 and used the company's converted [[World War I|wartime]] [[Handley Page Type O|Type O/400]] [[bomber]]s with a capacity for 12 passengers,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1961/1961%20-%200055.PDF |title=The First Handley Page Transports |access-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413004211/https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1961/1961%20-%200055.PDF |archive-date=13 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to run a [[London]]-[[Paris]] passenger service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airlinehistory.co.uk/Airline%20History/History1903.asp|title=Airline History 1903 to 1919|website=www.airlinehistory.co.uk|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref>

The first French airline was [[Aéropostale (aviation)|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 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 [[Paris – Le Bourget Airport|Le Bourget Airport]], [[Paris]] and [[Lesquin Airport]], [[Lille]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/world/1919.cfm |title=World Aviation in 1919 - Part 1 |publisher=Royal Air Force Museum |access-date=28 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105130943/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/world/1919.cfm |archive-date=5 January 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00007, Berlin, Start eines Junkers-Flugzeuges.jpg|thumb| [[Junkers F.13]] ''D-190'' of [[Junkers Luftverkehr]]]]
The first German airline to use heavier than air aircraft 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&nbsp;km (1865 miles) long, and included destinations in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the Baltic Republics. Another important German airline 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.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The [[Netherlands|Dutch]] airline [[KLM]] made its first flight in 1920, and is the oldest continuously operating airline in the world. Established by aviator [[Albert Plesman]],<ref>{{cite journal|journal=International Directory of Company Histories|year=1999|volume=28|title=Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, N.V. History| url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/koninklijke-luchtvaart-maatschappij-n-v-history/|access-date=30 July 2013}}</ref> it was immediately awarded a "Royal" predicate from [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.klm.com/corporate/en/about-klm/history/index.html|work=KLM Corporate|publisher=KLM|access-date=30 July 2013}}</ref> Its first flight was from [[Croydon Airport]], [[London]] to [[Amsterdam]], using a leased [[Aircraft Transport and Travel]] [[Airco DH.16|DH-16]], and carrying two British journalists and a number of newspapers. In 1921, KLM started scheduled services.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://metroairportnews.com/celebrating-klm-royal-dutch-airlines-100th-anniversary/|title=Celebrating KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 100th Anniversary|first=Joseph|last=Alba|date=7 October 2019|publisher=Metropolitan Airport News|quote=In 1921, KLM started scheduled services.|access-date=22 October 2021}}</ref>

In [[Finland]], the charter establishing Aero O/Y (now [[Finnair]]) 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Finnair's first flight took place 90 years ago {{!}} Finavia |url=https://www.finavia.fi/en/newsroom/2014/finnairs-first-flight-took-place-90-years-ago |website=www.finavia.fi |access-date=7 May 2020 |language=en |date=19 March 2014}}</ref>

In the [[Soviet Union]], the Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet was established in 1921. One of its first acts 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aeroflot.ru/us-en/about/history|title=Aeroflot History {{!}} Aeroflot|website=www.aeroflot.ru|language=en|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref>

Early European airlines tended to favor comfort – 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of flight - The first airlines|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-flight|access-date=14 September 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

====Rationalization====
[[File:National Audit Office - Victoria - London - 020504.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|The [[Imperial Airways]] Empire Terminal, [[Victoria, London]]. Trains ran from here to [[flying boats]] in [[Southampton]], and to [[Croydon Airport]].]]
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 the merger of [[Instone Air Line|Instone Air Line Company]], [[British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd|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.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1923/1923%20-%200760.html |title = Imperial Air Transport Company: Appointment of Government Directors|work = Flight|date = 20 December 1923|page = 760}}</ref>

The first new airliner ordered by Imperial Airways, was the [[Handley Page W8f]] ''City of Washington'', delivered on 3 November 1924.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial%20airways.htm |title=Imperial Airways |access-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201958/http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial%20airways.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the first year of operation the company carried 11,395 passengers and 212,380 letters. In April 1925, the film ''[[The Lost World (1925 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]], the country's flagship carrier to this day, on 17 May 1933.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia|publisher=Britannica Digital Learning|year=2017|pages=Air France|via=Credo Reference}}</ref>

Germany's [[Deutsche Lufthansa]] was created in 1926 by merger of two airlines, one of them [[Junkers Luftverkehr]]. Lufthansa, due to the [[Hugo Junkers|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 (Aircraft)|Junkers]], [[Dornier GmbH|Dornier]], and [[Fokker]] were among the most advanced in the world at the time.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}

====Expansion====
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 was inaugurated in 1932 with the [[Handley Page HP 42]] airliners. Further services were opened up to [[Kolkata|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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}

[[File:Imperial routes April 1935.jpg|thumb|April 1935 map showing [[Imperial Airways]]' routes from the [[United Kingdom|UK]] to [[Australia]] and [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]]]France began an air mail service to [[Morocco]] in 1919 that was bought out in 1927, renamed [[Aéropostale (aviation)|Aéropostale]], and injected with capital to become a major international carrier. In 1933, Aéropostale went [[Bankruptcy|bankrupt]], was nationalized and merged into [[Air France]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History of AEROPOSTALE. |url=http://postale.free.fr/aeropostale.htm |website=Aeropostale |access-date=9 June 2018}}</ref>

Although Germany lacked colonies, it also began expanding its services globally. In 1931, the airship [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin|Graf Zeppelin]] began offering regular scheduled passenger service between Germany and South America, usually every two weeks, which continued until 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airships.net/lz127-graf-zeppelin/history |title=LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin |publisher=Airships.net |access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref> In 1936, the airship [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]] entered passenger service and successfully crossed the Atlantic 36 times before crashing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airships.net/hindenburg |title=Hindenburg |publisher=Airships.net |date=10 June 2009 |access-date=22 August 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101005073820/http://www.airships.net/hindenburg| archive-date= 5 October 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> In 1938, a weekly air service from Berlin to [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], started operating.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/history/afghanistan.shtml |title=Stone & Stone: History Page |access-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306105124/http://books.stonebooks.com/history/afghanistan.shtml |archive-date=6 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From February 1934 until World War II began in 1939, [[Deutsche Luft Hansa|Deutsche Lufthansa]] operated an airmail service from [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]] via [[Spain]], the [[Canary Islands]] and West Africa to [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]] in [[Brazil]]. This was the first time an airline flew across an ocean.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pigDAAAAMBAJ&q=Popular+Science+1931+plane&pg=PA13 |title=First Transatlantic Air Line Links Two Continents|date=February 1933 |journal=Popular Science|pages = 13–15 and 104|volume = 122|issue = 2|editor-last = Brown|editor-first = Raymond J.}}</ref><ref name="Graue&Duggan">James W. Graue & John Duggan "Deutsche Lufthansa South Atlantic Airmail Service 1934–1939", Zeppelin Study Group, Ickenham, UK 2000 {{ISBN|0-9514114-5-4}}</ref>

By 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 the [[Tupolev Tu-104]].<ref>{{cite web |title=First sustained jet airline service |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-sustained-jet-airline-service/ |access-date=10 March 2020}}</ref>

====Deregulation====
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 the rapid increase of oil prices in early 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/alitalia-future-hinges-on-rescue-package/a-1320328|title=Alitalia Future Hinges on Rescue Package|date=7 September 2004|website=DW.COM|language=en|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref>