Airlines

Airlines

All 9 Types of Airlines Explained

Legacy Carriers The heavyweights of the airline industry, legacy carriers are often among the largest airlines in the world in terms of revenue, fleet size and number of employees (among others). Unlike other types of airlines, there is no set definition for a legacy carrier, though is generally used to mean any airline with a transcontinental presence and revenues exceeding $1 billion USD. Traditionally, legacy carriers are the largest airline and flag carriers of their home country (though not always, as in is the case in the US who refuses to have one) and dominate traffic at their country's largest airport. As a general rule, legacy carriers not only have a presence in neighboring countries, but on different continents too, where they compete with rival flag c...
Why Did Pan Am Fail?
Airlines

Why Did Pan Am Fail?

At its height, Pan American World Airways, more commonly known as simply Pan Am, was called "America's unofficial flag carrier" thanks to its position as the largest of the Big Four airlines and the only one with a major international presence. Yet by the early 1990's Pan Am was not just a shadow of its former self but gone all together, having entered bankruptcy on January 8 1991 and ceased operations on December 4 1991. So where exactly did it all go so wrong? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background Pan American World Airways was formed on June 23 1928 as the result of a merger between Pan Am Airways, Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean Airways and the Aviation Corporation of the Americas (ACA). The airline soon distinguished itself by estab...
Remembering Hughes Airwest: Howard Hughes’ Other Airline
Airlines

Remembering Hughes Airwest: Howard Hughes’ Other Airline

Though best known for being the brains behind the Hughes Aircraft Company or his holdings in TWA, Howard Hughes had another airline: Hughes Airwest, a wholly different airline to that of TWA. Where TWA had been a legacy carrier, Hughes Airwest (originally founded as simply Air West) was one of the original low cost carriers. Its slogan of "Top Banana in the West" and brightly colored yellow aircraft were instantly recognizable wherever they went and helped it become a seventies icon! In part due to this, the airline was acquired by the then new Republic Airlines in October 1980, who themselves were acquired by Northwest Airlines in 1986, who in turn merged with Delta in 2010, keeping the Delta name. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background ...
Top 15 Most Expensive Airlines to Book Your Next Trip With!
Airlines

Top 15 Most Expensive Airlines to Book Your Next Trip With!

15. United Airlines 14. Japan Airlines 13. Air France 12. British Airways 11. Oman Air 10. Delta Airlines 9. Swiss International Airways 8. All Nippon Airways (ANA) 7. Cathay Pacific 6. Korean Air 5. Qatar Airways 4. Singapore Airlines 3. Emirates 2. Etihad 1. Lufthansa What do you think of the most expensive airlines? Have you ever flown on any of them? Tell me in the comments! Featured image courtesy of Mark Harkin via Flickr.
Why is Oceanic Airlines Used in so Many Films?
Airlines

Why is Oceanic Airlines Used in so Many Films?

What do Executive Decision, Marvel's Daredevil comics, and White Collar all have in common? Aside from being icons in their own right, all feature a particular fictional airline: Oceanic Airlines. All while none are part of the same universe... Indeed, it seems that whenever pop culture wants to depict a fictional airline, the name they go with is Oceanic Airlines, or sometimes the similar Oceanic Airways, but why exactly is this? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); History But before we can discuss exactly why Oceanic Airlines is used in so many films, TV shows, video games and more, we should probably look at how the fictional airline came to be... Origins As aviation became more accessible and more people were exposed to aviation thanks ...
How to Start an Airline in 7 Easy Steps!
Airlines

How to Start an Airline in 7 Easy Steps!

It's often said that you're either a genius or completely mad if you want to start an airline. So for those geniuses or whack jobs out there, how exactly do you start your own airline? But it's not just about starting your own airline, it's about running it well and making sure to always stay one step ahead of the competition. One wrong step and you can easily join the long list of airlines that have failed for one reason or another. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. Have an Interest in Aviation Though obvious and often overlooked, any prospective airline entrepreneur should have an interest in aviation, just as a prospective tech entrepreneur should have for the tech industry, or a media entrepreneur for the media industry. Most prospec...
Why Did Virgin America Fail?
Airlines

Why Did Virgin America Fail?

A partial sister company to both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia, Virgin America should've been destined for greatness. Yet, less than a decade and a half after it was founded, Virgin America was no more, swallowed up by the giant Alaska Air Group. Acquired in 2016, the company was slowly merged into Alaska Airlines (the main airline in the Alaska Air Group along with regional airline Horizon Air) and was completed in 2018, with the Virgin brand being fully retired by June 2 2019. By 2020, seemingly all remnants of the company had disappeared due to Alaska Airlines' retiring of all former Virgin aircraft and the furloughing of almost all its old staff. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background Foundation Early Years Great Recess...
Airlines

How Imperial Airways Laid The Foundation For British Airways

A direct predecessor to today's British Airways, Imperial Airways was the first British airline to service the majority of the British Empire's routes in the Eastern Hemisphere, before being merged into BOAC in November 1939. When Imperial Airways merged into BOAC, most of their procedures and techniques were employed by the new company, allowing it to effectively compete against Juan Trippe's Pan Am. 35 years later, when BOAC was merged into today's British Airways, those very same procedures and techniques pioneered by Imperial Airways were employed by the new British Airways... albeit significantly updated for the modern world. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background On December 17 1903, American aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville...
An in-Depth History of Southwest Airlines
Airlines

An in-Depth History of Southwest Airlines

Whilst it's by far the youngest of the "Big Four" US airlines, the history of Southwest Airlines is no less interesting than that of United, or Delta or American Airlines. At least to a certain extent, it's actually more intriguing! Now the largest low-cost carrier in the world, Southwest has had to fight for almost everything it has today - be it actually getting off the ground in the beginning, operating outside of Texas or internationally - often having to sacrifice other parts of their business to do this. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Foundation The story of Southwest Airlines starts with two men: Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, who both had a dream to revolutionize air travel.  Herb Kelleher Born into a poor, working-class ...