Airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and/or freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which they both offer and operate the same flight. Generally, airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body. Airlines may be scheduled or charter operators.
For other uses, see Airline (disambiguation).
The first airline was the German airship company DELAG, founded on November 16, 1909.[1] The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919),[2] Colombia's Avianca (1919),[3] Australia's Qantas (1920)[4] and the Russian Aeroflot (1923).
Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s.[5] Since the 1980s, there has been a trend of major airline mergers and the formation of airline alliances. The largest alliances are Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld. Airline alliances coordinate their passenger service programs (such as lounges and frequent-flyer programs), offer special interline tickets and often engage in extensive codesharing (sometimes systemwide).
History[edit]
The first airlines[edit]
DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft I was the world's first airline.[1] It was founded on November 16, 1909, with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by The Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt.
The first fixed-wing scheduled airline was started on January 1, 1914. The flight was piloted by Tony Jannus[6] and flew from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, operated by the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line.[7]
Aircraft engines emit noise pollution, gases and particulate emissions, and contribute to global dimming.[97]
Growth of the industry in recent years raised a number of ecological questions.
Domestic air transport grew in China at 15.5 percent annually from 2001 to 2006. The rate of air travel globally increased at 3.7 percent per year over the same time. In the EU greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006.[98] However it must be compared with the flights increase, only in UK, between 1990 and 2006 terminal passengers increased from 100 000 thousands to 250 000 thousands.,[99] according to AEA reports every year, 750 million passengers travel by European airlines, which also share 40% of merchandise value in and out of Europe.[100] Without even pressure from "green activists", targeting lower ticket prices, generally, airlines do what is possible to cut the fuel consumption (and gas emissions connected therewith). Further, according to some reports, it can be concluded that the last piston-powered aircraft were as fuel-efficient as the average jet in 2005.[101]
Despite continuing efficiency improvements from the major aircraft manufacturers, the expanding demand for global air travel has resulted in growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, the aviation sector, including US domestic and global international travel, make approximately 1.6 percent of global anthropogenic GHG emissions per annum. North America accounts for nearly 40 percent of the world's GHG emissions from aviation fuel use.[102]
CO2 emissions from the jet fuel burned per passenger on an average 3,200 kilometers (2,000 mi) airline flight is about 353 kilograms (776 pounds).[103] Loss of natural habitat potential associated with the jet fuel burned per passenger on a 3,200 kilometers (2,000 mi) airline flight is estimated to be 250 square meters (2700 square feet).[104]
In the context of climate change and peak oil, there is a debate about possible taxation of air travel and the inclusion of aviation in an emissions trading scheme, with a view to ensuring that the total external costs of aviation are taken into account.[105]
The airline industry is responsible for about 11 percent of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector. Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80 percent. The solution would be blending algae fuels with existing jet fuel:[106]
There are projects on electric aircraft, and some of which are fully operational as of 2013.
There are several types of passenger airlines, mainly