The 10 Oldest Airlines In The World

[@kingsharkoon]

KLM actually was the only airline to fly ALL Douglas Commercial (DC) aircraft, the DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, DC-5, DC-6, DC-7, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10. And only the MD-11 after they merged with McDonnell.

[@polishavgeek1849]

They didn't fly the experimental DC-1, of which only one was built.

[@Tedster0]

That one DC-1 was owned by TWA.

[@polishavgeek1849]

@@Tedster0 Exactly

[@ashleyjiscool]

@@polishavgeek1849 but they flew all normal Douglas commercial

[@CheapBastard1988]

And KLM was the last airline to fly the MD-11 passenger jets.

[@gperm3710]

I truly wish the legendary Pan Am was still flying today, they would be among the top 5 oldest and celebrating its 100th birthday next year Edit, I'm wrong, Pam am was founded in 1927, not 1922, but still

[@nelsonricardo3729]

But Americans prefer cheap cheap cheap crappy airlines like Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant.

[@RobEJC]

I flew them DAYS before they finally stopped operations.

[@gperm3710]

@@RobEJC interesting, was the flight full/many passengers?

[@RobEJC]

@@gperm3710 Not even half, if memory serves me well - and I was booked on a US military fare, so I presume there were others like me on the flight as well. That was in the days before US military traveled in uniform.

[@nairbvel]

Gotta wonder what happened to all those moon flight tickets they sold in the 1960s... :-)

[@itisritripathy6707]

Virgin Australia: We have completed 20 years in 2020. What about u Qantas? Qantas: Ever seen our new livery on the 787-9?😁✈

[@flopjul3022]

KLM hold my Heineken beer(a 787 has the 100 year livery) since 2019

[@djaxil]

The voice reminds me of the narrator of kurzgesagt

[@Waddle_Dee_With_Internet]

Oh hi new stranger

[@spongebubatz]

It reminds me of the narrator of Simple Flying /s

[@AndoCommando1000]

I thought the same thing

[@soldierofdark8284]

@@spongebubatz ...

[@toms5996]

Great analysis and information on different carriers. As a Finn I liked the bit about Finnair😊 but the whole video as well of course.

[@NicolaW72]

@@anand-menon Indeed.

[@polishavgeek1849]

LOT Polish Airlines is just beyond the list, founded in 1929. It's history can be traced back to 1921 with the foundation of Aero. This merged with Aerolot to form LOT Polish Airlines.

[@itisritripathy6707]

American Airlines: I am the largest airline in the world to ever exist Aeroflot: Um..........Hello, my name is Aeroflot

[@luisflucht6702]

They did just have that many planes, because they owned all the military aircraft

[@Nigelsmith79]

Actually Eastern was larger than Aeroflot

[@luisflucht6702]

@@Nigelsmith79 no, Aeroflot was at some point the biggest airline in the world with a few thousands planes, but I think that Aeroflot operated all the military planes for Russia

[@EnricoLai]

KLM, one the best airlines ever I have experienced. Very good service and some of the best pilots ever. Sadly cost cutting has also affected this airline's service quality.

[@flyingdutchman3237]

Hearing him say: Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij. Made me laugh

[@piotrjezierski4370]

What about JUNK ers :)

[@alex.herrera387]

Great video, excellent summary of the global aviation history! I have travelled in two of this oldest airlines, I traveled to the U.S. by the first time in American Airlines (on the iconic Boeing 757), and I am a "frequent flyer" of Avianca. Sadly, this airline is having some financial difficulties, probably it will migrate to a service model similar to JetBlue, in order to remain competitive in a market disrupted by low-cost carriers.

[@teodorbabic8007]

Jugoslovenski Aerotransport - JAT and Air Serbia 🇷🇸

[@vukkomsija]

Аеропут, господине... Аеропут...

[@diecicatorce6259]

Iberia doesn't make the cut by 11 days :( not even 2 weeks after Aeroput (AirSerbia) was founded

[@gonzalolarrubia]

Even Aeroput entered service in 1928, while Iberia started flying in 1927

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Fascinating and very informative. Nice video. Keep up the good work.

[@MudhaffarAdhwa]

So Amsterdam-Jakarta is one of the oldest routes still in operation then?

[@Ozymandias1]

Amsterdam-Batavia when Indonesia was still called the Dutch East Indies.

[@dusmany]

Correct ....

[@nairbvel]

With the British Empire looming so large in history, it's easy to forget just how far-ranging the Dutch exploration & financial "empire" really was...

[@polishavgeek1849]

@@nairbvel Afrikaans, the language of South Africa, is based off of Dutch because Dutch explorers colonised South Africa.

[@NicolaW72]

On the long haule: yes.

[@InTeCredo]

One can also say that the modern Lufthansa traced its origins to Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which was formed in 1927. Yet, Lufthansa ceased to operate in 1945 and was formed again in 1953 so it might not qualify as the "one of the oldest _continously_ operated airlines"... By the way, @1:37 E.L. Cord also founded Cord automobile brand and bought Auburn and Duesenberg companies. 1929 Cord L-29 was the first American passenger car with front-wheel-drive. 1936 Cord 810/812 was the first car in the world to have the hidden headlamps. Duesenberg cars were like Bugatti and Ferrari in the 1930s with extraordinary high performance engines. Auburn cars were famous for lower-priced performance cars.

[@luisflucht6702]

The history of Lufthansa does even go back to 1917 😉

[@NicolaW72]

Indeed.

[@jonahosterried7832]

Don't get it, why they didn't include it. Or at least mention it

[@themomentchannel3498]

i just love how he pronounced “Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij”

[@Star737_yt]

I love this choice of music.

[@Sfaknak]

Great documentary well presented.

[@artistictad7417]

I've flown Czech Airlines, great experience.

[@swabby429]

I've flown often on Delta and am a KLM frequent flier.

[@katimboallan4605]

Very fascinating. Thx. That airline called Avianca from Colombia surprise me.

[@joyl7842]

My dad, as a Fokker employee, achieved platinum membership with KLM by flying with them frequently :) Sadly the bankruptcy of Fokker in 1996 lead to KLM phasing out their use of Fokker 70 and 100 in the last decade and replacing them with Embraer aircraft.

[@JonnoHR31]

I still fly in a Fokker 100 regularly and see them all the time, heaps of them still in use here in Western Australia for regional flights. Great aircraft and they operate with a near perfect safety record here.

[@franklinsternberg4528]

I've flown several times KLM , Avianca , Delta, American, and once Aeroflot, out of 78 different airlines. Also short of the list is Brazilian Varig (1927) which I was on board for many times.

[@claymag9803]

It is sad Varig ceased operations in late 2000s.

[@lexusdriver1963]

Oldest airlines by continent North America: Delta Airlines South America: Avianca Africa: Egyptair Europe: KLM Asia: Philippine Airlines Australia: Qantas

[@Bellasie1]

Great video, thanks! Someone please bring Pan Am back.

[@nairbvel]

Somehow I missed out on the KLM-Air France merger news... My folks were stationed in Den Haag in the 1980s and those big blue-and-white 747s were practically a member of the family for a while! I even had one flight where I was in the farthest-forward seat... it felt kinda weird on takeoff, lifting up into the air while much of the aircraft behind me was still rolling down the runway!

[@flopjul3022]

how couldnt you have noticed actually? although im dutch, it must have been big news in the air industry because 2 big airlines went a joint future

[@hunterayyob4320]

1:30 that exact plane is at the American Airlines museum at DFW

[@cellpat2686]

While AV is not one of the best airlines in the world, it is the second oldest airline in the world and as an strategic partner it is of incalculated value to the larger airlines that have invested in it. It is said that PA was in part founded because of AV. They turn 104 this coming December 19th 2023. The Colombian airport known as BAQ is named in honour of AV's founder, Ernesto Cortissoz.

[@mikepowell2776]

By the same token as some of your appraisals via mergers and acquisitions, British Airways can trace a lineage back to Air Transport and Travel (AT&T one of whose aircraft was shown in your KLM piece!) founded in 1916 and operating first international service (London - Paris) in 1918. This may make BA the world’s oldest active airline even if, as with so many others, names and structure have altered.

[@TheOlympicHero1]

I did not know that Delta airlines was named for the Mississippi Delta. That's a cool fact, though I dislike Delta because the merged and dissolved Northwest, the airline my dad worked for. I've lived in Mississippi since 2001 but I'm originally from Wisconsin.

[@EvanAviator]

Lol you dislike Delta because two companies mutually agreed it was best to merge?

[@TheOlympicHero1]

@@EvanAviator it wasn't mutually best for the Northwest workers(my dad was one). Ask any Northwest guy, they hated Delta.

[@zcvele]

Great analysis. Some of the pronunciation's of letter J shod be more as Y so you have Yunkers (phoneticaly) vs Junkers as it was not junk or YAT vs JAT as it was short for Yugoslav Airlines.

[@nbv6629]

Nice ! However it’s Barranquilla, not Baranquilla, and as far as a I know, KLM stopped ops during war so actually Avianca is the oldest airline without stopping operations in history.

[@parmentier7457]

In 1940 the KLM DC-3 aircraft fled to Bristol UK. Subsequently, the KLM aircraft flew a regular passenger line between Bristol and Lisbon until 1943. Portugal was neutral in World War II. Seems there was still demands between te UK and Portugal. Also in 1940, KLM also received new DC-5 aircraft and they flew to the Netherlands Antilles instead of the Netherlands. The new KLM aircraft then entered service between the Dutch Caribbean islands and Suriname. So in fact, KLM continued to fly during the Second World War, but not in the mother country (the Netherlands).

[@StySiddhi]

@@parmentier7457 Right ! Many thanks for this precisions.

[@AviationCommercials]

The pronunciation of Bogotá and Junkers was a little off, but still a very nice video.

[@texasyojimbo]

Indeed. BOH-ga-TAH. The stress is on the first and last syllables.

[@NicolaW72]

KLM - the clear number 1 :-) Btw.: the first Lufthansa was founded in 1926.

[@busofmauritius8306]

LUFTHANSA trace its history back to 1917

[@BillysAlt1234]

Qantas never dissapoints me

[@chanceaucoin9613]

Delta was not founded in Georgia....you even had a photo of the plane with Monroe, LOUISIANA on it

[@kingsharkoon]

afterall the Delta name comes from the Mississippi delta ...

[@free_spirit1]

I hope that if Fokker is ever revived they make a new plane called the Mother, the Father, the Uncle and the Donkey.

[@deanromania6748]

The Flag Carrier of my country, Romania, was founded in 1930! Back then it was called LARES! Now it is called Tarom!

[@NicolaW72]

Indeed.

[@chiwisss99]

Mexico's Mexicana de Aviación would've been right after Qantas but that airline hasn't seen the blue sky since 2010 when it seaced operations.

[@arleneracho5382]

Like Your Videos Long Haul By Simple Flying

[@eamonahern7495]

Flew KLM from Schipol to Nairobi in May 2005. The layout of that plane was a bit out dated in that you had screens over the aisles instead of the back of the seat in front so you didn't have any choice with regards movie and TV entertainment and limited radio entertainment because the radio stuff recycled about 3 times during the flight.

[@adriaanvandenberg5814]

2005 ☠️

[@aviationchannel6204]

I know Qantas will be in this.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

Yep

[@dusmany]

I flew many times between Jakarta and AMS with KLM B747-400 since 1994 till 2003 .....

[@B51217]

AWESOME AND NICE VIDEO

[@brycehughes8840]

Great vid, although man you butchered those Colombian names 😆

[@l_kasi]

My grandad lived in the U.S.S.R and he has flown A LOT of times on the TU-144 ❤❤

[@TobiH]

The story of ČSA (Czech airlines) is kinda sad... what was once a european aviatic superpower, is now a minor airline with only two aircraft in operation... :(

[@radekb.2953]

Founded in capitalism, survived nacism, survived comunism and did NOT survive new postsocialistic pseudocapitalism.... Very sad :/

[@djaneczko4]

Well done

[@alexisoterocastellon1248]

Cubana de Aviación was founded on 8 October 1929... and keep flying, please.

[@nettcologne9186]

You have forgotten Lufthansa (founded in Berlin in 1926).

[@spongebubatz]

Out of this list I got to fly on KLM, Finnair, Delta and American

[@neilpickup237]

What about Handley page transport 1919 which merged into Imperial Airways in 1924 eventually to become British Airways?

[@spongebubatz]

Nope, British Airways came to existence after a merger of BEA and BOAC and became a new brand, it’s not rebranding or a merger with a preexisting name like it was the case with some airlines in the list!

[@neilpickup237]

@@spongebubatz Incorrect, they were mergers under British Law (actually an act of Parliament) and used the Old Name of British Airways who had previously merged with Imperial Airways to create BOAC. British Airways officially marked it's centenary in 2019 based on predecessor companies.

[@luisflucht6702]

@@neilpickup237 no it was the 100 anniversary of airlines in the UK not of British Airways. Lufthansa‘s history does even go back to 1917 but that does not mean that Lufthansa is the oldest airline in the world. The real Lufthansa was founded a bit later, because of the merge of two airlines (one of them was founded in 1917) but because of the Second World War, they had to be founded again

[@neilpickup237]

@@luisflucht6702 I do not know where you are getting your misinformation from, but if you checked you would realise the while British Airways was was created by the merging of BOAC and BEA, it was actually a rejoining, because BEA before its independence (well as independent as a state owned entity can be) was a subsidiary of BOAC. The whole history of BA has been a series of mergers and changes of names and yes it might be correct to say that it was the centenary of Airlines in Britain, but it was also the Centenary of the founding of the oldest constituent Airline which eventually ended up as British Airways. I cannot speak for the rest of the world, but in the UK, it is normal for a merger to result in a change of name, whereas if just one name went forwards (as happened when British Caledonian was absorbed into BA) that would usually be as a result of a take-over.

[@luisflucht6702]

@@neilpickup237 but British airways was not founded in 1919, so I’m not misinformed. It does not care if they were rejoining or not. They were not founded 1919 so they should not be in this top 10, that’s why they aren’t. If you would say that BA needs to be in this list, Lufthansa would have to be on the first place, as it’s history goes back to 1917 and it would not care if it is the same company

[@darwinqpenaflorida3797]

Most of the list are from Europe and the Americas but in Asia, Philippine Airlines was the oldest airline carrier in Asia by original name What is started in 1930 as an aerial taxi known as Philippine Aerial Taxi Company or PATCO served from Manila to Baguio and Paracale and it was bought in 1939 to named as Philippine Airlines in 1941 Philippine Airlines has many first in Asia’s Aviation including: 1.The first Asian airline to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1946 2.The first Asian Airline to have routes to Europe in 1947 3.The first route to Jakarta was in 1951 and Bali in 1969 The second oldest airline in Asia was Garuda Indonesia established after Philippine Airlines and because of its history and it’s age, the two are considered as Grandparents of Asia’s Aviation and both are code sharing agreements 😊😊

[@thepro_luis4274]

Quick fix: United airlines was established before AAL which was in 1926 but United had a different name.

[@Maho65]

Grate list and video. I find it to cheat a bit tho to take previus airlines that merges into the list. I mean then SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) can track its roots back to DDL (Danish Air Lines) that was founded in 1918. Tho it did not make the list anyway, but Air Serbia did.

[@tommay6590]

American Airline today is legally American West Airline which bought first US Airways and then almost bankrupt (old) American Airlines, but kept the brand name for PR and marketing reasons.

[@tommay6590]

@@spongebubatz ??? I did say that America West „resulted“ in AA, I just said that American West bought AA and keep the AA brand.

[@chandrachurniyogi8394]

it's a pity that the Dutch full service carrier doesn't offer first class on it's long haul international services . . . just business, premium economy & economy class . . . should be noted that through the 1970s, 1980s to 1990s Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands was the gateway to America & Canada . . . like Dubai & Doha is now in the Middle East . . .

[@jonahosterried7832]

What about Lufthansa? Yes, between the end of the war and 1951 is didn't fly, but it was founded in 1926

[@nonsibisedipsi6812]

Delta was started in Monroe Louisiana. Not Georgia.

[@cx777300]

His pronunciation of Bogotá 😂😂

[@vietnammodeling]

KLM. Let's show their most recent aircraft: MD-11 and B-747.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

I didn't know Air France joined KLM

[@rodolfobuelvas5595]

I have had the chance to fly in Avianca, American, Delta, Qantas.

[@Swissspookie]

KLM are honestly fabulous, at least it's a blue airline! Pan am would be happy it didn't go to American 🎉

[@himmeverhoef8636]

no offence, but when you said Koninklijke luchtvaart maatschappij, I suddenly started laughing, since in Dutch and the pronunciation was gun

[@abubakarmustapha8052]

Make a video about the stolen 727 in luanda

[@rodolfobuelvas5595]

Great Video. I believe that Monroe Louisiana is the birth place of Delta Airlines.

[@damianolszowy2229]

LOT Polish Airlines December 29, 1928.

[@endeavourist5287]

I flew Avianca once, and it was one of the worst flights I've been on.

[@juanvids]

As Colombian my ego has been hurt 🤣 BUT i do agree that they have their share of good and bad years. It also depends on which service you took, Economy is not groundbreaking butttttt their First Class or Red Ruana service is a really premium product Still love them though, AV wohoooo!

[@johnmc67]

I’ve flown Delta, American & KLM, all from/to DTW.

[@whatsthis1888]

Imo KLM is the best airline in the world. I've flown with many airlines over the years but always prefer KLM. Mainly because I always have great interactions with KLM crew. Last year In Tokyo I actually ran into the crew that worked on my flight to Japan the day before 😅I can say from experience lovely people, even when off duty 👍🍻

[@namenamename390]

How could KLM change a name of a frequent flyer program as brilliant as "flying dutchman"?

[@BirdbiaGamingYT]

I've flown on Qantas before. I'm from Australia.

[@Luke_Go]

I believe that KLM is Europe's best low-cost carrier. Even slightly better than Condor!

[@adriaanvandenberg5814]

Low cost?

[@Luke_Go]

@@adriaanvandenberg5814 You might be right: Condor is probably better than KLM. KLM is soso-cost (compared to good airlines like Lufthansa) and rather bad service - with lousy French frequent flyer program.

[@adriaanvandenberg5814]

@@Luke_Go you has to be joking 🤣

[@Luke_Go]

@@adriaanvandenberg5814 Not at all. The service I received at KLM during my past 10 KLM flights were similar to Ryanair - especially when also considered the customer care and Flying Blue. Out of my past 50 KLM flights, I only had about 10 that were better than a typical Easyjet flight. For the price paid, Condor has been better than KLM on every single flight I've ever had. Even KLM "business" is worse than Condor business. I certainly won't waste my money with KLM business anymore. If I want a good quality flight, I fly with better airlines than KLM (incl. Condor, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Jetblue, Virgin, Emirates, Qatar, Swiss, Austrian, AirBaltic, SAS, Singapore, Turkish, Easyjet, etc., etc.)

[@adriaanvandenberg5814]

@@Luke_Go I have been flying with klm for years and it is by far the best European airline in terms of business class Lufthansa is terrible service is bad seats in the a350 and the klm 787 seats are perfect. I cannot speak about condor but Lufthansa was terrible.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

I feel old lol

[@akselihillman4580]

great video, but the high pitch music gives me headache 😅

[@flightattendant911]

mexicana de aviación fue fundada en 1924 💕

[@aviation47551]

I have flown with Klm

[@glm8319]

Umm.. Lufthansa was funded in 1926! Today it isn’t the same company because of the WW2 but should definitely be in your list!

[@spongebubatz]

Nope, exactly like you said the Lufthansa we know today isn’t the same as the one founded in 1926! As today’s Lufthansa was founded in the 50s it has no place on this list

[@Firedragontesla]

Egypt air left the chat

[@allenwalkerist]

can you create video about oldest airlines by continent

[@aluescu]

1920 CFRNA { TODAY. TAROM} FRENCH-ROMANIAN Company for Air Aviation

[@spongebubatz]

It was refounded in 1954, that’s why it doesn’t count

[@aluescu]

@@spongebubatz 13 April 1920 CFRMA that was the first name. Joint venture French/Romanian

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Soundtrack very distracting.

[@EuMatBa]

Not Junk-ers, it's Jun-Kers ... There is no relation with a word "junk" ...

[@theharper1]

Do you mean to say that it should be pronounced "yoonkers"? :)

[@spongebubatz]

@@theharper1 yeah, that comes very close! J like Y, U like in to and ERS like Airs! And as @EuMatBa said the K stands out a bit, so Jun-Kers!

[@theharper1]

@@spongebubatz sure, I was just highlighting the "you" sound rather than "Jun". :)

[@NicolaW72]

@@spongebubatz Indeed - that´s the German pronouciation of the company name which was founded by Hugo Junkers (there its name came from - it had nothing to do with junk food :-) ).

[@satyapal18]

You missed to add Air India (15 Oct 1932)

[@spongebubatz]

The 10th place (Air Serbia) was founded in 1927, Air India woudln‘t even be in the Top 15 or 20

[@satyapal18]

@@spongebubatz My friend, Air India was founded as Tata Airlines in October 1932. So Air India should be at 11th place.

[@spongebubatz]

@@satyapal18 so there were no Airlines founded between 1927 and 1932? Rather unlikely don’t you think?

[@spongebubatz]

@@satyapal18 I just checked, Air India is 18th oldest airline still in operation

[@satyapal18]

@@spongebubatz ok friend

[@auricom8472]

You should do a 2nd list of this video but instead ot 10 make it 20

[@KarinaBarzolaS]

I flown a lot of times with Avianca and Klm

[@waldron007]

Surely BA should in the top 10?

[@spongebubatz]

BA was a result of the merger of BEA and BOAC, as it was a completely new brand and NOT a rebranding or merger under a preexisting name like it’s the case with airlines on the list

[@fleemwings207]

@@spongebubatz Air Serbia is on the list but it wasn't its original name.

[@spongebubatz]

@@fleemwings207 merger into a new name isn’t the same as a simple rename! BA was founded in 1974, BOAC and BEA ceased to exist at that time! Air Serbia was only renamed, while its name was changed it still was the same airline!

[@MrDragon1968]

@@spongebubatz And BOAC was actually a merger from Imperial and some other smaller British airlines (one of them actually called British Airways).

[@sendraboot77]

it really hurts my ears when someone says 'junk airs' (Junkers)

[@BigDukeX]

Technically speaking, Avianca Airlines is the “oldest airline” still in service today (November, 2021) recognizing that its very first flight actually took place - several months prior to KLM’s. The Dutch carrier only meets this criteria “on paper”, ... i.e, (earlier registration date) seeing that KLM took-to-the air for the very first time in May, 1920. As far as the worlds very first revenue airline goes, DELAG Airlines - originating from Frankfurt, Germany holds on to that coveted aviation crown.

[@AllThingsOpera]

First Avianca flight: September 5, 1920 (established December 5, 1919) First KLM Flight: May 17, 1920 (established October 7, 1919) So KLM was both established and flying prior to Avianca.

[@BigDukeX]

@@AllThingsOpera ... very aware of these dates, however there is a technicality - perhaps, you are unaware of it. A bit more research on your end will provide confirmation. Much success.

[@gregclaydon6727]

Good presentation but I think QANTAS should be number one, as it is an original company, having never been taken over or merged with another Airline..it is some may say a ‘cleanskin’.. agree?

[@VW_Fan]

Qantas. One of the worlds oldest airlines in one of the worlds newest counties.

[@davidcomtedeherstal]

France started Air France in 1927, Germany`s Lufthansa 1925, they both belong into the list.

[@verttikoo2052]

Pootin destroyed Aeroflot. Nobody will sell them planes anymore.

[@eliteffsquadron9932]

But you left out air india it started at 1907 as tata airlines and was taken by the Indian government and after 100 years the Tata company has re-bought it

[@spongebubatz]

Air India was founded in 1932, like you said as Tata Airlines! Is India in the year 2047 already?

[@pingpongpung]

The timeline in the thumbnail is wrong. It has 1923 in it twice.

[@Nigelsmith79]

BA’s over a hundred and can trace its origin to Boac Imperial BEA etc

[@spongebubatz]

Not really, BA was a brand which was the result of the merger of BOAC and BEA! As both airlines ceased to exist in that sense BA was "only" founded in 1974

[@Nigelsmith79]

The introduction of luxurious aircraft including the HP42 offered customers new levels of luxury aloft. Imperial Airways opened services from Southampton to Empire destinations using the Short S23 flying boat; the Empire Air Mail Scheme was inaugurated. In 1935 four private airlines were merged to form the independent British Airways Limited; in 1939 the government announced its decision to merge the two airlines.

[@spongebubatz]

@@Nigelsmith79 BA came to existence in 1974 as a completely new brand, hence it‘s "only" 47 years old

[@kentweeks5415]

Nigel, You are completely correct. Aeroflot and other airlines on this video had been renamed. History knows of Imperial, BOAC, & BEA and yes there was a BA way back so your statement is spot on. Long live the Speedbird, just saying. 🌐

[@spongebubatz]

@@kentweeks5415 the difference is it wasn’t a merger under the same Name (e.g. US Airways + American = American), but a merger with a completely new brand, so BEA and BOAC ceased to exist and BA came to existence. It’s right to say that these first airlines which ended up in BEA or BOAC are a part of the history of how BA came to be, but it’s wrong to say that the founding of these smaller airlines is also the founding date of BA. You’re now just taking the first date. Let me make an example: We have 4 airlines: A, B, C and D A is founded in 1925, B in 1926 and so on. A and B merge to E, C and D merge to F. After some time these two airlines merge to G. What you’re now saying is that airline G was founded in 1925, but why are you just taking that date? If we assume that ABCD were founded independently why does it have to be the first date that makes the founding of airline G. I could be 1925, 1926, 1927 or 1928. And now I’m saying it again: These airlines ceased to exist and went into a completely newly branded airline, which we now know as British Airways. It isn’t just a renaming, it’s a completely new brand with roots in all these airlines and no airline you can be seen as the exact root. As I said, AA merged US Airways and lived on as AA, the brand continued and wasn’t newly founded. It already was a thing. If solely BOAC rebranded to BA and acquired BEA we would take the founding date of BOAC as the founding date of BA. That would just be a fictional scenario which, as it isn’t the case, shows again than BA isn’t just a simple rename in its right

[@Topitopi14]

Iberia: 1927

[@ahmedmontasserzaki5567]

Egypt Air is also one of the oldest