Editing Airline (section)

====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>