Humans have been flying since the Wright Brothers took to the air in 1903. Of course, airlines started later – with the first scheduled passenger flights in 1914 (across Tampa Bay, Florida). We take a look here at the 10 oldest. Note that some of the orders and listings could change depending on exact dates (such as incorporation or starting service), so treat this a bit flexibly.
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, with a DeHavilland DH-16 aircraft between Croydon, London, and Amsterdam.
KLM 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.
It 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 and the 747-400 in 1989. It was the first European airline to launch a frequent flyer program – known as Flying Dutchman. This became the Flying Blue program in 2005.
Today it is part of the Air France-KLM group. The two airlines merged in 2005, but operations and branding remain separate – hence the claim to continuous operation under the same name.