Air France was formed on 7th October 1933, with the merger of five airlines - Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA), and Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA). During World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca, Morocco. After the war was over, the air service company got nationalized and Societe Nationale Air France was set up, on January 1, 1946. The same year, Air France opened its first air terminal at Les Invalides, in central Paris. By 1948, Air France was operating one of the largest fleets in the world, with 130 aircrafts.
Air France is one of the subsidiaries of the Air France KLM Group, the world's leading airline group in terms of its turnover. Air France-KLM is also the largest airline company in the world in terms of operating revenues and the third largest one (being largest in Europe) in terms of passengers-kilometers. The airline is also one of the founding members of the…
The origin of Syrian Arab Airlines can be traced back to 1946, when its forerunner Syrian Airways was established. Its first internal and external flights were carried out using helicopters. Syrian Air was established in October 1961, by the Government of Syria, to succeed Syrian Airways. In 1963, when the Syrian Revolution took place, the airline entered jet age, by acquiring four Super-Caravel jet-engine planes. Its western journey began with flights to Rome & Munich. Gradually, it came to be known as SyrianAir.
Syrian Arab Airlines is the national airline of Syria. It operates both domestic and international services and its main base is Damascus International Airport. Syrian Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. Currently, the airline employs a staff of over 10000 and is wholly owned by the Syrian government. Syrian Arab Airlines has code share agreements with Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Yemenia Airlines.
The fleet…
Deutsche Aero Lloyd (DAL) and Junkers Luftverkehr merged on January 6, 1926, to form Lufthansa Airlines, in Berlin. The airline was originally named as 'Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft'. The name Lufthansa was first used in 1933 and since then, the airline is known by the name. Prior to the Second World War, Lufthansa excelled in its business, operated services on the routes to the Far East and covered a number of destinations in North Atlantic and South Atlantic parts, with a fleet of German designed aircrafts including Dornier, Junkers, Heinkel and Focke-Wulf.
Lufthansa is one of the premier airlines of the world and one of the largest in Europe, in terms of the number of passengers carried by it. The flag carrier of Germany derives its name from Luft (the German word for 'air') and Hansa (the Hanseatic Trade Organization that was active in Northern Europe, during the medieval period). Headquartered in Cologne, the major hub of the airline is located at Frankfurt Airport, in…
Air Mauritius was founded on June 1967, by Amedee Maingard. The airline started its operations in August 1972, with a Piper-Navajo aircraft, on a flight from Mauritius to Reunion Islands. Its international operations commenced in the year 1977. Air Mauritius is the national airline of Mauritius, based in Port Louis - the capital of Mauritius. Its main base comprises of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), Mauritius. The airline provides domestic as well as international services, operating as many 80 flights per week. The symbol of Air Mauritius is phaeton rubicola or Paille-en-Queue, a fish-eating tropical bird. The airline appeared on the Mauritius Stock Exchange list in 1995. It employs a staff of over 4500 people and has tied up with international airlines, for which it performs varied services.
Air Mauritius operates with a very modern fleet. It consists of Airbus A340-300, Airbus A319-100, Boeing 767ER, ATR72-500, ATR42-500 and Bell Jet Rangers.
Presently,…
The origin of American Airlines can be traced back to times of the Second World War. A group of over 80-82 independent air carriers came together under the umbrella of American Airways. A common brand used by a number of independent carriers, American Airways included Southern Air Transport in Texas, Southern Air Fast Express (SAFE) in the western US, Universal Aviation in the mid-west, Thompson Aeronautical Services and Colonial Air Transport in the northeast. It was on 25th January 25 1930 that American Airways came to be incorporated as a single company. It was based in New York and operated with routes from Boston, New York and Chicago to Dallas, and from Dallas to Los Angeles. Four years later, in 1934, American Airways Company was acquired by E.L. Cord, which gave it the name of 'American Airlines' (AA). Sometime later AA became owner of the world's first airline lounge at the new LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Since then, it has only grown by leaps and bounds.
Today, American…
Thai Airways International was formed in 1960, as a joint venture between Thailand’s domestic airline, Thai Airways Company (TAC) and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). The airline commenced its operations in 1960, with flights to nine overseas destinations within Asian continent. In 1971, Thai Airways started its intercontinental services, with flights to Australia, followed by flights to Europe in 1972 and to North America in 1980. In 1988, Thai Airways International merged with the domestic airline, Thai Airways Company. In 1991, Thailand Government approved a resolution authorizing Thai Airways to list its shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Subsequently, listing of Thai Airways shares was commenced on July 19, 1991.
The main hub of Thai Airways International is Bangkok International Airport. In 2006, Thai international was credited with the award of 'World’s Best Cabin Staff and The Best Airline in the World' by Skytrax. In 2009, Thai Airways International's first…
Virgin Atlantic Airways came into being, when Richard Branson, who was earlier, involved in music records business and had a company by the name 'Virgin Records', decided to enter airlines business. Virgin Atlantic’s forerunner, British Atlantic Airways, operated flights from the UK to the Falkland Islands, starting in 1982. Branson bought British Atlantic Airways and the new airlines - Virgin Atlantic Airways - began its operations on June 22, 1984. The airline's inaugural flight was between London and Newark Liberty.
Virgin Atlantic Airways is a British private airline, operated by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. The Group holds 51% share of the airline, while 49% share is held by Singapore Airlines. Headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, England, Virgin Atlantic Airways operates from its main hubs at London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport. Apart from its main hubs, it also has a small base at Manchester Airport.
Their fleet consists of Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600,…
Bellview Airlines started as IATA approved travel agency named 'Bellview Travels Limited' in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1989. The travel agency metamorphosed itself and turned into an airline in October 1992, starting with executive chartered operations with a Yakovlev (Yak-40), which is a regional jet transport aircraft. In 1993, Bellview Airlines commenced scheduled passenger services within Nigeria, using a leased DC-9-30 series aircraft.
It operates scheduled domestic, regional and international charter flights from Lagos. Its main hub is located at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. It holds the distinction of being the first airline in Nigeria to operate Airbus A300-600 aircraft and the first privately owned airline to do so, in Africa. Today, Bellview Airlines and its subsidiary - Bellview Airlines Sierra Leone Ltd - have grown into market leaders in their respective countries - Nigeria and Sierra-Leone.
Bellview currently operates with a fleet of Boeing 737-200 and Boeing…
Aeroflot is headquartered in Moscow, the capital city of Russia. Aeroflot is the national airline of Russia. Currently, it is the largest airline of Russia, in terms of the number of passengers carried by it, every year. It holds the distinction of being one of the oldest airlines in the world, with its history dating back to 1923. In the Cold War days, it used to be the national airline of the Soviet Union.
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "Aeroflot - Soviet Airlines" was transformed into the open stock company "Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines” i.e. transformed from being a state-run enterprise to a semi-privatized airline. In the present time, the airline is doing profitable business in both Domestic and International levels.
It presently flies to 95 destinations across 46 countries in the world. These include 27 destinations in Russia, 6 in CIS, 2 in Africa, 9 in Asia, 40 in Europe, 5 in Middle East, 3 in North America and 1 in the Caribbean. In India,…
The origin of South African Airways can be traced back to 1934, when the South African government purchased an airline named 'Union Airways' and renamed it to South African Airways. The airline first flew to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. In 1935, South African Airways took over South-West African Airways, which since 1932, had been providing a weekly air-mail service between Windhoek and Kimberley. During the same decade, the airline entered international market, by plying flights to Kenya, and Uganda. The airline continued to grow at a slow, yet consistent pace.
In 1945, South African Airways started its European operations, when an Avro York Bomber flew from Palmietfontein to Bournemouth, England. It made history by becoming the first airline outside UK, to operate the world's first pure jetliner - the De Havilland Comet.
At present, South African Airways (SAA) is South Africa’s largest domestic and international airline company. Headquartered near Johannesburg, South Africa,…