While the Wright Brothers took to the air in 1903, the first scheduled passenger-carrying airline flights occurred in 1914 across Tampa Bay, Florida. But which carriers are the oldest? Let's take a look, noting that some of the orders and listings could change depending on exact dates (such as incorporation or starting service).

KLM - October 1919

KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij in full) is generally recognized as the oldest airline still in service, under its original name. It was established in October 1919 by a group of investors and its first director Albert Plesman. The first flights began in May 1920, between London's Croydon Airport and Amsterdam.

The Dutch flag carrier also began long-haul services in 1924, flying to Jakarta (known then as Batavia) using a Fokker F.VII aircraft. Curacao services began in 1930. Like most airlines, it suffered during the Second World War, but aircraft remained in use in both Europe and Dutch East Indian territory. It resumed services to Jakarta soon after the war, and New York services began in 1946.

KLM was the first European airline to use Douglas aircraft, operating the DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, and DC-6. Its first jet aircraft was the DC-8 in 1960. The Boeing 747 was introduced in 1971. It was the first European airline to launch a frequent flyer program, known as Flying Dutchman. This became the Flying Blue program in 2005.

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KLM and Air France are part of the Air France-KLM Group. Photo: Getty Images

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Today, the airline is part of the Air France-KLM group. The two airlines merged in 2005, but operations and branding remain separate. As such, KLM is able to stake a claim to continuous operation under the same name.

Avianca - December 1919

Avianca comes in very close behind KLM, as it was founded just a few months later, in December 1919. The airline started life in Barranquilla, backed by German expatriates, as SCADTA (The Colombia-German Air Transport Company). Flights began in 1921, between coastal Barranquilla and inland Giroadot.

Its early aircraft were from German manufacturer Junkers. These used floats for water landings to allow operation with minimal infrastructure. It grew through mail and passenger services, linking previously hard-to-reach areas.

Junkers float plane
A Junkers floatplane in use with SCADTA. Photo: Unknown via Wikimedia Commons

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International services from Colombia to other South American countries began in the mid-1920s. Further afield, it struggled to compete with Pan Am's rise and agreed to a deal where Pan Am took majority ownership. This shifted during the war years, with the Colombian government taking a stake and the name changing to Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia, which it shortened to Avianca.

Service soon started to the US and Europe by the 1950s. Pan Am's backing, and the introduction of the Lockheed Super Constellation, helped it expand amidst growing competition. It entered the jet age with the Boeing 707 and was the first Latin American operator to take on the 747. This milestone occurred in 1976.

Recent years have seen the airline struggle. For example, in 2003, it filed for bankruptcy protection. Six years later, in 2009, the carrier merged with TACA. The airline continued under the Avianca brand, with its headquarters in Bogota. In 2020, however, it filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time. With a reported loss of over $1 billion in 2020, its future remains fragile.

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Avianca has a long and diverse history. Photo: Getty Images.

Qantas - November 1920

Australian airline Qantas makes it to third place. Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (hence the 'QANTAS' acronym) started in 1920 with a mission to service the sparsely populated northern regions of the country. Its first aircraft were biplane designs, namely an Avro 504K and a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2E.

Scheduled service started in 1922 with a government mail contract, followed by passenger services in 1924 (with a four-seat de Havilland DH50 aircraft). The route network would reach the coast in 1929, with an extension to Brisbane.

Overseas services began in 1934 when Qantas and Imperial Airways (a predecessor of British Airways) jointly formed Qantas Empire Airways Limited (QEA). The route to the UK with Shorts S23 Empire flying boats in 1938 took nine days.

Qantas, Boeing 787, Desert Storage
Qantas once flew an all-Boeing 747 fleet. Photo: Getty Images

Qantas was nationalized after the Second World War, and services continued with both flying boats and aircraft such as the Avro Lancastrian and the DC4. Jet service began with the 707 in 1959. For several years in the 1980s, it operated an all 747 fleet, making its retirement particularly sad.

Coronavirus hit the airline hard. Indeed, international flights were grounded, and its A380 fleet faced uncertainty. Qantas has bold aims, though, with Project Sunrise looking at ultra-long-haul flights direct to London and New York from Sydney.

Aeroflot - July 1923

Russian airline Aeroflot traces its origins back to July 1923. It was known then as Dobrolet and started flights from Moscow using Junkers aircraft. It was renamed Aeroflot in 1932, when several companies came together under state ownership.

Tupolev Tu-144 Side
Aeroflot briefly operated the supersonic Tupolev Tu-144. Photo: Sumit Singh | Simple Flying

After the Second World War, Aeroflot became the largest airline globally for some time. It operated mostly USSR-built aircraft from native Soviet manufacturers such as Ilyushin, Tupolev, and Antonov. The Tupolev Tu-144, which served as a supersonic challenger to Concorde, was, of course, one of the best-known.

The USSR's collapse in the 1990s brought major changes. The airline was split into smaller companies, with Aeroflot itself focussing on international routes from Moscow. This changed again in the 2000s, with Aeroflot competing openly in more areas. It remains the largest Russian airline but is a fraction of its former peak.

Indeed, it operated some 5,400 aircraft at its peak in 1991. Today, it operates 370 aircraft, flying designs from both Airbus and Boeing's narrowbody and widebody portfolios. Regionally, it also uses the Sukhoi Superjet as well.

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Current restrictions have seen Aeroflot shut out of European operations. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Czech Airlines - October 1923

Czech Airlines was founded in 1923 by the Czechoslovak government, operating domestic cargo and limited passenger flights. Service was interrupted by the Second World War, but the Communist government later resumed it. It was the third airline globally to introduce jets (after BOAC with the Comet and Aeroflot), operating the Tupolev Tu-104 between Prague and Moscow.

Today, the carrier faces an uncertain future. It was declared bankrupt in March 2021, with a debt of $82 million. Czech Airlines had dismissed its entire workforce before this, and aircraft grounded. Its present fleet consists of just two aircraft.

Finnair - November 1923

Nordic giant Finnair started operations as Aero O/Y back in 1923, running mail and cargo flight between Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia. Its first aircraft were Junkers, fitted with floats for water landings. The airline's code 'AY' is still reminiscent of this original name, as it stands for Aero Yhtio ( with Yhtio meaning 'company').

Finnair Airbus A350-941 OH-LWI (2)
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

After the Second World War, the Finnish government took a majority stake in the airline and invested in longer European services, using the DC-3 and then the Convair 440. Its name changed to Finnair in 1953. Further expansion followed, with New York in 1969 and the US West Coast in 1981. In 1988, it became the first Western European airline to offer direct flights to China (Beijing).

Finnair has built its recent strength on US and European connections to Asia, as Helsinki's strategic location makes for good connections and short flight times. It also allows extremely high aircraft utilization, with 24-hour aircraft rotations.

Tajik Air - September 1924

Tajik Air is not an airline we often talk about, nor is it very large, with just five aircraft (all inactive) in its fleet. However, it is one of the oldest. The state-owned airline started service in September 1924, flying a Junkers F13 aircraft, to Bukhara in Uzbekistan. Domestic and regional service expanded over the decades, with further Junkers, Lisunov, and Ilyushin aircraft.

Tajik Air 757
Tajik Air's fleet includes a 30-year-old Boeing 757. Photo: Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons

It later added Boeing aircraft, including designs from the 737, 747, 757, and 767 families. However, recent times have been tough for Tajik Air, after privately-owned Somon Air took over several of its routes. Tajik Air actually ceased operations in 2019, but it has since restarted service, with its Boeing 757 being a key driver.

Delta Air Lines - March 1925

Delta Air Lines was not the first US airline, but it is the oldest still in operation. The carrier started life as Huff Daland Dusters, an aerial crop dusting company founded in Georgia. This produced and operated aircraft, nicknamed “Puffers,” to protect the cotton fields of the southern United States against boll weevils.

Passenger services started in 1929, between Dallas, Texas, and Jackson, Mississippi (the name came from the Mississippi Delta area). Like the other major US airlines, it has expanded through both its own growth and mergers. Delta merged with Northeast Airlines in 1972 and took over most of Pan Am's European routes. It merged again in 2008 with Northwest Airlines.

Delta And Northwest Airlines Announce Merger Agreement
It has now been more than a decade since Delta merged with Northwest. Photo: Getty Images

American Airlines - 1927

American Airlines has a more complicated history than Delta, and some may argue that it actually started much later. Several airlines came together in the 1930s to operate under a single brand, with the oldest (American Airways) tracing its origins back to 1927. E.L. Cord bought American Airways and rebranded it as American Airlines in 1934, with businessman C.R. Smith as the airline's first CEO.

Like Delta, American Airlines' growth has been catalyzed through the means of both expansion and acquisition. In the 1970s, it acquired Trans Caribbean Airways, and, in the 1990s, it took part of both TWA and Eastern Air Lines' operations. In 2013, it merged with US Airways to create the largest airline globally at the time.

Air Serbia - 1927

Although this particular airline only became known as Air Serbia in 2013, it can trace its origins back to several earlier national airlines of Yugoslavia. This started with Aeroput in 1927 and later became Jat Airways. Jat Airways operated several Western-built aircraft, including the Sud Aviation Caravelle, the Douglas DC-9, and the Boeing 707. Later it also took on ATR 42s and 72s.

AirSERBIA (Serbia Creates Livery) Airbus A330-202 YU-ARA
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The breakup of Yugoslavia altered the airline's growth in the 1990s. In 1992, it became a public company, as well as the flag carrier of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (and later of Serbia). Etihad Airways took a 49% stake in Jat Airways in 2013, whereupon the reformed airline became Air Serbia. The government of Serbia has since repurchased shares from Etihad, and it now controls 82% of the carrier.

Hopefully, this has been an interesting review of some of the world's oldest airlines. Many others almost make the list too, such as Iberia (which started in 1927). Meanwhile, British Airways holds claims to some of the earliest flights (in 1919), although the airline only took on its current form in 1974. Feel free to discuss these, and others, in the comments.