Vanish Czech Airlines: here's the new top 10 'grandmothers of the skies,' the world's oldest airlines
The imminent 'demise' of Czech Airlines (which will be 'merged' into its owner, the low-cost Smartwings as of October 27) represents the [...]
Qantas
LOT Polish Airlines
KLM
Iberia
Finnair
Delta
American Airlines
Aeroflot
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
Oneworld
The imminent 'demise' of Czech Airlines (which will be 'merged' into its owner, the low-cost Smartwings as of Oct. 27) represents the second 'demise' of a historic carrier in Eastern Europe in just over a decade, following that of Hungary's Malev in 2012, Skyteam's loss of one of its longest-affiliated members, and farewell to the world's fifth-largest carrier considering its founding date: 1923.
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Just last year, Czech had celebrated its centennial. Indeed, the Prague-based carrier had for some years now been the 'ghost' of what had been one of the most dynamic companies in the days of the Iron Curtain and also among those that had best managed to reinvent themselves after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, with long-haul flights (including to the U.S.) operated with Airbus A310-300s.
To date, it has just two Airbus A320s in its fleet., one of which still bears the celebratory '100 years' inscription, compared with a fleet of aircraft that a few years ago numbered a dozen A319s, as many A320s, three A321s, some 30 737s (-400 and -500) and as many ATRs (-42 and -72).
A couple of years ago, commercial aviation was in danger of losing another of the world's oldest companies, Colombia's Avianca, as a result of overly aggressive expansion and bad management. The Bogota-based carrier now appears to be getting back on track. Founded in 1919, contends for the palm of the world's oldest existing airline with Dutch KLM, the latter being older by just two months having been founded in October 1919 (Avianca in December of the same year).
Considering gone Czech Airlines, here is what the top 10 oldest airlines in the world will be as of October.
KLM: founded October 5, 1919, is now one of Europe's largest airlines in terms of fleet, destinations served and passengers carried. The beautiful blue livery with white tail 'dresses' 31 Boeing 777s, 23 Boeing 787s, 11 Airbus A330s and 42 Boeing 737s to a total of 107 aircraft, to which should be added the 65 Embraer Regional jets of KLM subsidiary Cityhopper; the destinations served are about 160 in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa; passengers carried 30.3 million in 2023.
Avianca: founded December 7, 1919, is one of the largest airlines in the Americas, with subsidiaries in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The 'parent' company has a fleet of 126 airplanes, among which are 15 Boeing 787s, 104 Airbus A320s and 7 Airbus A319s; flies to more than seventy destinations in North and South America and Europe; In 2023, it carried 31.9 million passengers and was among the on-time airlines in the world, with 86% of its flights landing on time.
Qantas: The Australian company was founded on November 16, 1920. and today boasts a fleet of 10 Airbus A380s, 14 Boeing 787s, 26 Airbus A330s and 75 Boeing 737s to a total of 125 airplanes, to which must be added the 113 aircraft operated by regional subsidiary Qantas Link. Fly to a hundred destinationsi in Oceania, Asia, North and South America, and Europe; in 2023 carried 45.7 million passengers.
Aeroflot: the Russian carrier, now banned due to aggression against Ukraine from most of the world's skies, was founded on February 3, 1923 e boasts a fleet of 170 aircraft, among which are 22 Boeing 777s, 7 Airbus A350s, 12 Airbus A330s, 35 Airbus A321s, 57 Airbus A320s and 37 Boeing 737s; Fly to a hundred destinations and carried 25 million travelers in 2023.
Finnair: founded November 1, 1923, the Finnish airline will deploy 17 Airbus A350s, 8 Airbus A330s, 15 Airbus A321s, 10 Airbus A320s and 5 Airbus A319s, to a total of 79 aircraft connecting Helsinki to a hundred destinations Europe, North America and Asia; In 2023 it carried 10.9 million travelers.
Delta Airlines: what is one of the largest carriers in the world, was founded on March 2, 1925; the fleet has nearly 1,000 airplanes, including 32 Airbus A350s, 71 Airbus A330s, 64 Boeing 767s, 121 Boeing 757s, 188 Airbus A321s, 58 Airbus A320s, 57 Airbus A319s, 240 Boeing 737s, and 88 Boeing 717s, to which should be added the 326 jets of regional subsidiary Delta Connection; the network includes more than 300 destinations in all six continents of the world (Delta is one of the few truly 'global' companies in the world): In 2023, it carried more than 190 million passengers.
American Airlines: founded April 15, 1926, boasts a fleet of 970 aircraft among which are 67 Boeing 777s, 59 Boeing 787s, 298 Airbus A321s, 48 Airbus A320s, 133 Airbus A319s, and 365 Boeing 737s, to which must be added the more than 600 regional jets of the subsidiary American Eagle; the destinations served are about 350 in North and South America, Oceania, Asia and Europe (AA does not fly to Africa); In 2023, it carried 164.3 million travelers.
Air Serbia: founded June 17, 1927 as Aeroput, then Jat Airways and since 2013 operating under its current name, has a fleet of 25 aircraft among which there are 2 Airbus A330s, 3 Airbus A320s, 10 Airbus A319s and 10 ATRs serving about eighty destinations Europe, North America and Asia; In 2023, it carried 4.2 million passengers.
Iberia: The Spanish flag carrier was created on June 28, 1927.; it has 22 Airbus A350s, 27 Airbus A330s, 14 Airbus A321s, 28 Airbus A320s and 5 Airbus A319s in its fleet to a total of 96 aircraft, to which must be added the 25 of Iberia Express and the 40 of Iberia Regional; it is very strong on flights between Europe and South America, but also operates (in addition to Europe) in North America, Asia and Africa on a hundred destinations; about 24 million passengers flew on its planes in 2023.
Lot Polish Airlines: with the exit of Czech Airlines, Polish carrier is the new entri in the Top 10 'grandmothers of the skies'; it was established on Dec. 29, 1928 and today is the largest among those operated in the former Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe with a fleet of 76 aircraft of which include 15 Boeing 787s, 18 Boeing 737s, 24 ERJ-190s, 18 ERJ-170s and ERJ-E2s flying in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia; connected destinations are about 200 e passengers carried in 2023 were 10.1 million.
