American Airlines

American Airlines
On the morning of April 15, 1926, a young aviator named Charles A. Lindbergh stowed a bag of mail in his little DH-4 biplane and took off from Chicago for St. Louis. Later that day, he and two other pilots flew three plane loads of mail from St. Louis to Chicago.
At the time, Lindbergh was chief pilot of Robertson Aircraft Corporation of Missouri, which was the second aviation company to hold a U.S. airmail contract. It was one of scores of companies that eventually consolidated to form the modern-day American Airlines.
The consolidation began in 1929, when The Aviation Corporation was formed to acquire young aviation companies, including Robertson. In 1930, The Aviation Corporation's airline subsidiaries were incorporated into American Airways, Inc. In 1934, American Airways became American Airlines, Inc.
In October 2001, American announced that it will accelerate construction of its new $1.3 billion terminal at New York's JFK Airport, advancing the completion date nine months to September 2006.
On April 2, 2002, Gerard J. Arpey was elected President and Chief Operating Officer of American Airlines.
In April 2002, American began daily nonstop Boeing 777 service between New York JFK and Tokyo, giving AA four U.S. gateways to Japan.
In September, 2007, American marked its 65th anniversary of service to Mexico. The airline began serving Mexico on Sept. 6, 1942. Today, American and its regional affiliate, American Eagle, jointly offer more than 360 weekly flights between Mexico and the U.S. and serve 14 Mexican cities from five of their largest hubs.

http://www.aa.com/

United Airlines

United Airlines
(NASDAQ: UAUA) operates nearly 3,000* flights a day on United and United Express to more than 200 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States.

United also is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 975 destinations in 162 countries worldwide. United's 52,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at united.com.

United history
Through photos, timelines, advertising and memorabilia, you'll gain an understanding of how United grew from a partnership between four early U.S. mail carriers to a worldwide airline serving nearly 119 destinations in 26 countries and 2 territories.

Whether you're a student researching the airline industry or an aviation fan interested in poring over photos of United's past and present fleet, you've come to the right place. Fasten your seat belt and get ready to soar through more than 75 years of commercial aviation history.

Air Canada

Air Canada
Is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1937, has had its corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, since it moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1949. Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 160 destinations, with its largest hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport; it also provides vacation packages to over 90 destinations via Air Canada Vacations. The company is the world's 7th largest passenger airline by fleet size. The airline's parent company is ACE Aviation Holdings. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, an alliance of 21 member airlines formed in 1997. In 2006, 34 million people flew with the airline. The following year, Air Canada celebrated its 70th anniversary.

History
Air Canada's predecessor, Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA), was created by legislation of the federal government as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CNR) on 10 April 1936. The newly created Department of Transport under Minister C. D. Howe desired an airline, under government control, which linked the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Using $5 million in government seed money, two Lockheed L-10 Electras and one Boeing Stearman biplane were purchased from Canadian Pacific Airlines. Experienced airline executives from United Airlines and American Airlines were brought in.
Website: http://www.aircanada.com/

Skyservice ( Canada )

Skyservice Inc.
Is a business aviation, air ambulance and charter airline (Skyservice Airlines) based in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. It employs more than 2000 people and more than 50 business and airline aircraft. As well as Canada, the Skyservice Airlines division flies to the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, Israel and Europe. During the summer Skyservice sells tickets to Europe from Toronto using a Boeing 757-200WL. It also uses a Airbus A330-300 for other chartered flights to Europe from Canada. Schedules services to some destinations are offered during the summer season. Skyservice offers online-booking for those who wish to travel on Skyservice's scheduled destinations in the summer.

History
The airline was started in 1986. On May 2, 2005 Sky-Service introduced the first of two Boeing 767-300 aircraft to its fleet, the first of which entered service on that date with a flight from Toronto to Puerto Vallarta. The aircraft (both formerly with MyTravel Airways) operated summer charters from Toronto to the UK and Europe for Sunquest Vacations, and in the winter flew from Vancouver to the Caribbean and Mexico. It is one of the few discount airlines operating in Canada which still offers full meal service.

On August 28, 2007, it was announced that Skyservice sold a majority interest in its airlines business to Vancouver-based private equity company Gibralt Capital Corp. Its business jet charter and air ambulance services were not included in the sale. No changes in senior management, operations or staffing levels were planned.
Website: http://www.skyserviceairlines.com/

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Limited
Is a scheduled passenger airline based in Auckland, New Zealand, and the national flag carrier. Its focus is on Australasia and the South Pacific, with services to Europe, North America and Asia, and it is a Star Alliance member. Its main hub is Auckland Airport.

History
Air New Zealand began as TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited) in 1940, operating Short Empire flying boats on trans-Tasman routes. With the introduction of the DC8-52 in 1965, TEAL became Air New Zealand. In 1978, the domestic National Airways Corporation (NAC) and its subsidiary Safe Air were merged into Air New Zealand to form a single national airline.

Brand
On 27 March 2006, Air New Zealand embarked on a changeover to a new brand identity, involving a new Zambesi-designed uniform, new logo, new colour scheme and new look check-in counters and lounges.

The new uniforms feature a colour palette mirroring the greenstone, teal, schist and slate hues of New Zealand, sea and sky (a Māori motif created by Derek Lardelli) fabric woven from merino wool, and curves inspired by the koru.

A greenstone colour replaces the blue Pacific Wave colour, inspired by the colour of the pounamu, the prized gemstone found in New Zealand. The Air New Zealand Koru will be woven through all Air New Zealand's signage and products.

Website: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/

HeavyLift Cargo Airlines (Australian)

Heavylift Cargo Airlines Pty Ltd

Is a cargo airline based in Rosebery, Sydney, Australia. It started operations in 2004 and operates scheduled and charter cargo services. Its main base is Brisbane Airport.

Destinations
Heavylift operates both scheduled and charter cargo services between Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In the future it has plans to expand its operations further into the Pacific and to Vanuatu.

Currently, Heavylift Cargo operates an international freight service to Honiara, in the Solomon Islands.

Fleet

Heavylift is the operator of the world's only flying Short Belfast. A second Belfast was being refurbished at Southend Airport for delivery to Australia. Both of these aircraft were operated by namesake company HeavyLift, a former UK-based major freight airline specialising in outsize cargo. During 2006 work was also underway at Bournemouth Airport to refurbish another ex-HeavyLift aircraft, the unique Conroy CL-44-0; however it has been reported on various aviation internet message boards that this aircraft will not now be delivered. A feature of the airline is that most of its aircraft are not registered in Australia, but in the Philippines. Although the main base is Brisbane, when not flying the aircraft are usually parked at Cairns Airport.

The company has plans in place to acquire one McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and a B747-200F wet leased from Kalitta to join the fleet for routes to Shanghai and to Europe.

Website: http://www.heavyliftcargo.com

British Airways

British Airways

Is the national airline and flag carrier of the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Its main hubs are London Heathrow and London Gatwick. British Airways is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

The British Airways Group was formed on 1 September 1974 consisting of BOAC and BEA. These two companies were dissolved on 31 March 1974 to form British Airways (BA). The company was privatised in February 1987. It expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1988 and some of the routes of Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air in 1992. The formation of Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic in 1984 began a tense relationship with BA which ended in "one of the most bitter and protracted libel actions in aviation history" in 1993 in which BA apologised "unreservedly" for a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin and paid damages and legal costs.

For a number of years the airline was a mainly Boeing customer, but in November 1998 it placed its first direct order for Airbus aircraft. The company's next major order was the start of its replacement of its long haul fleet, ordering Boeing 787s and Airbus A380s in 2007. The centrepiece of the airline's long haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400; the airline is the largest operator of this type. British Airways' strategy and aircraft purchases are seen as an industry benchmark that influences other carriers' decisions.

Bristow Helicopters

Is a British helicopter airline originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, but now based in Houston, Texas.

Bristow Helicopters Ltd holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 seats or more.

The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.

Website: http://www.britishairways.com

Turkish Airlines, Inc.

Is the national airline of Turkey based in İstanbul. It operates a network of scheduled services to 123 international and 32 domestic cities, serving a total of 155 airports, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. The airline's main base is Atatürk International Airport (IST), İstanbul, with secondary hubs at Esenboga International Airport (ESB), Ankara, and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW), İstanbul. In 2006 and 2007 it carried 17 million and 19.7 million passengers with total revenues of US$2.3 and US$3 billion, respectively.The airline has around 12,000 employees. As of April 1, 2008, THY is an official member of Star Alliance.

History
The airline was established on May 20, 1933, as the State Airlines Administration – Devlet Hava Yolları İşletmesi İdaresi (DHY). It began operations with an İstanbul, Eskişehir, Ankara service in August 1933. In September 1937, the airline received three De Havilland D.H. 86B biplane airliners.

The following December, DHY received the fourth plane. These planes enlarged the domestic routes of DHY to the destination of İstanbul, Eskisehir, Izmir, Ankara, Adana, Kayseri and Diyarbakır. The name was changed to Devlet Hava Yolları Umum Müdürlüğü (DHY) in June 1938. The first international flight was launched in 1947 to Athens but it was another 40 years before the introduction of long-haul flights to the Far East and across the Atlantic.

In a major reorganisation, the state company DHY was replaced with a mixed corporation, Türk Hava Yolları AO (THY) on 20 February 1956. The airline's shares were passed to the Prime Ministry Public Participation Administration in 1990, which took the company public in December 1990 selling 5% of the shares. The government later sold about 23.0% of the shares to the public in December 2004 and a further 28.75% in May 2006.

One of the Airbus A340 of Turkish Airlines.The airline is owned by TC Privatisation Administration (49%) and private shareholders (51%). It also has a 50% holding in affiliated airline SunExpress, the other half of which owned by Lufthansa of Germany. It has set up in September 2006 an airline catering JV with Do&Co Restaurants & Catering of Austria. Turkish Airlines quit the Qualiflyer group in 1999, due to incompatibilities with Swissair and Delta.

A request to join the Star Alliance has been accepted in December 2006. On April 1, 2008, Turkish Airlines joined the Alliance as a full member.

Website: http://www.thy.com/

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.
er Is the principal airline of Switzerland operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Kloten Airport (ZRH). Swiss is a subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa.
The airline uses the IATA Code LX, which it inherited from the Swiss regional airline Crossair (Swissair's code was SR). The ICAO code is SWR, inherited from Swissair (Crossair's was CRX), in order to keep international traffic rights.

History
Swiss International Air Lines, or "Swiss" was founded from the remains of Crossair. Unfortunately, the name change did not help. Crossair, which had for 40% of its income come from the defunct Swissair, and was cut out for becoming and intercontinental airline thanks to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The first year was plagued with loss and the Swiss government gave the airline the then-equivalent of $1.5 billion, which was used up within two years.

According to Marcel Biedermann, the managing director intercontinental markets for Swiss, said there were three possibilities: stay independent as a niche carrier, shrink to an unrecognizable level, or attach onto another airline group. The last choice was taken. Swiss talked to Air France-KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa. However, Swiss was tied up with debt and an uncertain future, and seemed to be an unattractive investment. After merging with KLM, Air France said they were too busy to deal with Swiss joining them. Lufthansa wanted to take over, but the Swiss people did not want that. British Airways was open, and Oneworld partners thought Zürich Airport would be a viable alternative hub for London Heathrow. After almost a year of disputes, Swiss was finally accepted into the Oneworld airline alliance, after having been blocked by British Airways, which competes with Swiss on many long-haul routes. On June 3, 2004, Swiss announced its decision not to join Oneworld because they did not want to integrate their current frequent flyer program into British Airways' Executive Club. Furthermore, Swiss thought the relationship was one sided, where British Airways sapped out the benefits of the airline, but they would get no return.

Website: http://www.swiss.com/

Spain Air Spanair

Spanair
Is an airline based in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines Systems that provides a scheduled passenger network within Spain and Europe, with an extension to West Africa. Worldwide charters are also flown for tour companies. Its main base is Son Sant Joan Airport, with hubs at Barajas International Airport, Madrid and El Prat International Airport, Barcelona. It employs 2535 staff.

History
The airline was established in December 1986 and began operations in March 1988. It was set up as a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines Systems and Viajes Marsans, and began operations with European charters. Long-haul flights to the United States, Mexico and the Dominican Republic were launched in 1991, followed by domestic scheduled flights in March 1994. The airline flew long-haul flights with Boeing 767-300 aircraft to Washington and Buenos Aires in the late 1990s. Spanair joined Star Alliance in 2003.

The company is owned 94% by the SAS Group. SAS Group announced in a press release June 13, 2007 that it would sell its shares in Spanair.The divestment was canceled on June 19, 2008 due to SAS not being able to sell for a price that it considered to "reflect the underlying value in Spanair".

A report in The Times on the day of the Madrid crash suggests that staff were threatening strike action due to concerns about the company's viability.

Website: http://www.spanair.com/

Saudi Arabian Airlines

Saudi Arabian Airlines
Is the national airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 70 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Domestic and international charter flights are operated, mostly during Ramadan and the Hajj season. The airline's main operational base is at Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). Other major hubs are Riyadh-King Khalid International Airport (RUH), and Dammam-King Fahd International Airport (DMM). The new Dammam airport was opened for commercial use on 28 November 1999. Dhahran International Airport in use until then, has reverted back to being used as a military base. Saudi Arabian Airlines is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. The airline used to be the largest carrier in the region, but because of the growth of other airports and airlines has become the second largest in 2006, behind Emirates Airline.

Website: http://www.saudiairlines.com/

Russian Sky Airlines

Russian Sky Airlines

Is an airline based in Moscow, Russia. It operates scheduled and charter cargo services to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. It also operates passenger services and VIP transport. Its main base is Domodedovo International Airport.

History

The airline was established on November 27, 1995 as East Line Air, that later on February 8, 1996 was granted Certificate No 61 by the civil aviation authorities of Russia. This Certificate had entitled the airline to operate all types of domestic civil aircraft. From January 3, 1996, East Line Air became a member of IATA. In 1997 the airline was renamed East Line Airlines, and a new Operator’s Certificate, retaining the same number, was approved on 4 September 1997, and subsequently renewed in compliance with the Federal Aviation Authorities regulations. East Line Airlines was a part of East Line group, which owns Domodedovo airport. They also were one of the leading cargo carriers in Russia.

In May 2004 a change of shareholders of East Line Airlines took place. The Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders of East Line Airlines, held on June 7, 2004, resolved to delegate the authority of a sole executive body to a Managing Organization - Russian Sky Aviation Group, and on October 21, 2004 East Line Airlines was renamed Russian Sky Airlines without any change of the legal entity.

In 2005 the airline was acquired by VIM Airlines.

Website: http://www.rusky.ru/

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C.
Is the flag carrier airline of Qatar, based in Doha. It operates a hub and spoke network, linking over 80 international destinations. It is among the only six airlines awarded 5-star rating by Skytrax along with Kingfisher Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Asiana Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Qatar Airways Cargo,

The airlines freight branch, has ordered 7 777-200F. The first B777-200 freighter will be delivered to the airline in 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport, which will have freight facilities able to handle 750,000 tonnes of cargo per annum during its first development phase. The B777-200F will be used primarily on Qatar Airways' Far East and European routes and will be supplemented by Airbus A300-600F freighters that operate on regional routes feeding the airline's hub. Meanwhile, a new destination, Zaragoza has been added to the cargo destination, the route is operated every Saturday using a A300-600F, and the returning flight goes through via Dubai, increasing the capacity to the city 3 times a week.

Website: http://www.qatarairways.com/

KLM

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Is the national airline of the Netherlands and is part of Air France-KLM. Based in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. It operates domestic and worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 90 destinations. Its main base is Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. KLM is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. It has 30,118 employees (as of March 2007).
The merging of KLM with Air France in May 2004 created Air France-KLM. Air France-KLM is incorporated under French law with headquarters at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France. Both Air France and KLM continue to fly under their distinct brand names.
Air France-KLM is part of the SkyTeam alliance with Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Korean Air, Czech Airlines, Alitalia, Northwest Airlines, Aeroflot, China Southern Airlines and Continental Airlines.

Cabin

KLM offers Business Class and Economy class on its aircraft. On shorthaul aircraft, Flexible Economy Class is called Europe Select, while on longhaul aircraft Business Class is called World Business Class.

World Business Class

World Business Class offers a 60 inch pitch on all longhaul aircraft. All aircraft (except certain McDonnell Douglas MD-11) offer a 170 degree angled lie-flat seat with a 10.4" TV monitor with AVOD (Audio Video on Demand), email/text messaging, a privacy canopy, a massage function, and laptop power ports. KLM's newest addition to the fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER features the same Business Class seat as merger partner Air France. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 with the old configuration offer cradle seats with a 150 degree recline and personal TVs offering 12 channels of video and 12 channels of audio.

All WBC seats offer personal reading lamps, leg/foot rests, and personal telephones (At the back of the controller) The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft are being configured with the new World Business Class seats which includes all features stated above.

Pre-departure facilities include a fully flexible reservation, check-in desks, lounge access, priority boarding, and 150% Flying Blue miles. Onboard, passengers are given a three course meal with menus, pre-departure beverages, and snacks, which are available throughout the flight.

Website: http://www.klm.com/

Middle East Airlines

Middle East Airlines Air Liban
Is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, based in Beirut. It operates scheduled international services in the Middle East, Europe and Africa with its base at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.

Middle East Airlines (MEA) is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The airline expressed its interest in becoming a SkyTeam associate member in early 2006 at a press conference in New York and the process should be completed by mid to late 2008.

Email:mea@mea.com.lb

Website: http://www.mea.com.lb/

Kuwait Airways

Kuwait Airways
Is the national airline of Kuwait, based in Kuwait City and wholly owned by the Kuwaiti Government. It operates scheduled international services throughout the Middle East, to Europe, the Far East and North America. Its main base is Kuwait International Airport.Kuwait Airways is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
History
The airline was conceived in February 1953 by two Kuwaiti businessmen and was established in March 1954. It started operations on 16 March 1954 as Kuwait National Airways. The current name was established in 1958, and that year saw a modernization of the fleet. In the 1970s, the airline further expanded its routes to include flights within the Middle East.

The airline was heavily affected by the Gulf War with many planes having to leave due to the invasion. During the occupation, operations were transferred to Bahrain. The carrier, however, flew a free Kuwait Airways service on the Bombay-Bahrain-Cairo-London route in a modified livery with a Boeing 727. Bahrain served as the operational headquarters during the occupation. The aftermath of the war saw a change in composition of the fleet. In 2005, Kuwait Airways signed an agreement with Sabre Airline Solutions giving Kuwait Airways full access to a modernized planning and crew optimizing portfolio.

Boeing 777-200ERKuwait Airways was the first airline created by an Arab state in the Persian Gulf and competes with neighboring airlines such as Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline.

The airline has 3,735 employees (at March 2007).

In October 2007, the new CEO pledged that the airline should be privatised in order for it to compete efficiently against other airlines. He says that the airline will encounter difficulty in advancing, especially in fleet renewal, without the privatisation.

Website: http://www.kuwaitairways.com/

Air Europa

Air Europa

Is an airline based in Palma, Majorca, Spain. It operates inclusive tour services between northern and western Europe and holiday resorts in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands. It also operates domestic scheduled services and long-haul scheduled services to North America, South America and the Caribbean. Its main base is Son Sant Joan Airport, Palma de Mallorca.

The airline is 100% owned by Globalia, a travel and tourism company managed by Juan Jose Hidalgo, and since September 2007 it has been an associate member of the SkyTeam alliance. During the last 10 years its operations have gradually shifted ever more to focusing on scheduled flights.

Website: http://www.aireuropa.com/

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa
Is one of the largest airlines in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, and the flag carrier of Germany. The name of the company is derived from Luft (the German word for "air"), and Hansa (after Hanseatic League, the powerful medieval trading group).

The airline is the world's fifth largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating services to 209 destinations in 81 countries. Together with its partners Lufthansa services around 410 destinations. It has the sixth-largest passenger airline fleet in the world, when combined with Lufthansa CityLine, Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, Germanwings, Augsburg Airways, Contact Air, and SWISS, operating 531 aircraft.

Lufthansa corporate headquarters is in Cologne, with its main base and primary traffic hub at Frankfurt International Airport in Frankfurt am Main with a second hub at Munich International Airport.

Lufthansa is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance. Star Alliance was formed in 1997 together with Thai Airways, United Airlines, Air Canada and Scandinavian Airlines System. The Lufthansa Group operates more than 500 aircraft and employs worldwide 105,261 people of 146 nationalities (31 December 2007). In 2007, 83.1 million passengers flew with Lufthansa Group including all subsidiaries.

Website: http://www.lufthansa.de/

Air France

Air France

Is one of the world's largest airlines. Air France is based in Paris, France, and is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group. It operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 185 destinations in 83 countries. Its global hub is at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Paris Orly Airport, Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport are secondary hubs.
Prior to the merger with KLM, Air France was France's primary national flag carrier, employing 71,654 people in March 2004. By March 2007, the airline employed 102,422 staff.
The company's corporate headquarters, initially in central Paris, is at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle north of Paris. Between April 2001 and March 2002 the airline carried 43.3mn passengers and had total revenues of €12.53bn. Régional, Air France's regional airline subsidiary operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of regional jet and turboprop aircraft. Air France is also accredited by IATA with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for its safety practices.
According to Air France-KLM, the company's principal activities are Passenger transport first European airline with 25.5% of market share (November 2004) and largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenue.
Freight transport largest company for international freight transportation without integration. With integration, Air France-KLM is third worldwide behind FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.
Airplane maintenance and repair: largest multi-services operator.

Website: http://www.airfrance.com

Thai Airways International

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited

Is the national air carrier of Thailand, operating out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance network. The airline operates some of the longest non-stop commercial flights, including routes from Bangkok to Los Angeles; the flights will become one stop in October 2008. Skytrax awarded Thai Airways International 'Worlds Best Cabin Staff and The Best Airline in the World' in 2006, while placing second in the 'Airline of the Year' category in 2007.
History
Thai started as Thai Airways International, a joint venture with Scandinavian Airlines System (which initially held a 30% share), along with a domestic carrier, Thai Airways Company. The carrier's first flight was on May 1, 1960. On April 1, 1977, the Thai government bought out the remaining 15% of SAS-owned shares. On April 1, 1988, the two carriers merged to form the present Thai Airways International.

The arrival of the A340-500 coincided with a change to the airline's image, including a new livery and a revised font for the title "THAI".

On May 1, 2005, the airline began a nonstop Bangkok-New York service (TG790/791) with a new A340-500. The New York-bound flight time was 16 hours 55 minutes and Bangkok-bound flight time was 17 hours 10 minutes. Routing from New York/JFK was via Bergen; Oslo; Stockholm; the Baltic States; south of Moscow; Kabul; south of Delhi and on into Bangkok. Routing from Bangkok/BKK was north over Laos and Vietnam; then over China and into Siberia; north to a very short crossing of the Chukchi Sea to near Nome, Alaska; east past Cambridge Bay and the southern end of the Northwest passage; then southeast over Hudson Bay to a point between Ottawa and Montreal and finally over the Adirondacks and the Hudson Valley down into JFK. Citing very high fuel costs, Thai discontinued the JFK service as of July 1, 2008, even though the airline had been able to fill 80% of the seats.

Website: http://www.thaiair.com/

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA)

Is the national airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Singapore Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets. The company also operates trans-Pacific flights, including two of the world's longest non-stop commercial flights from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey and Los Angeles, California on the Airbus A340-500. Singapore Airlines was the launch customer of the "superjumbo" Airbus A380. SIA has diversified into airline-related businesses such as aircraft handling and engineering. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, SilkAir, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements. Subsidiary Singapore Airlines Cargo operates SIA's dedicated freighter fleet, and manages the cargo-hold capacity in SIA's passenger aircraft. SIA has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Atlantic and has also responded to the threats posed by the low-cost sector by investing a 49% stake in Tiger Airways. Singapore Airlines Limited is the world's largest carrier by market capitalisation. It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres, is the 8th largest airline in Asia and ranked 6th in the world for international passengers carried.

Singapore Airlines was ranked 17th in Fortune's World’s Most Admired Companies rankings in 2007 and has built up a strong brand name as a trendsetter in the aviation industry, particularly in terms of innovation, safety and service excellence, coupled with consistent profitability. It has won numerous awards and is an industry bellwether for aircraft purchases. The airline was Asia's first and the world's third airline to be accredited by IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit).

Website: http://www.singaporeair.com/

Pakistan International Airlines

Pakistan International Airlines Corporation, more commonly known as Pakistan International Airlines or PIA (Urdu) is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan, based in Karachi. It is the 31st largest airline in Asia, operating scheduled services to 35 international destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America, as well as an extensive domestic network linking 23 destinations. Its main bases are Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore and the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The airline's secondary bases include Peshawar International Airport, Faisalabad International Airport, Quetta International Airport and Multan International Airport, from which it connects the metropolitan cities with the main bases, the Middle East and the Far East. The airline is owned by the Government of Pakistan (87%) and other shareholders (13%). It employed 18,043 employees as of May 2008.
Website: http://www.piac.com.pk/

Korean Air

Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd.

(KRX: 003490), operating as Korean Air, is the national and largest airline of South Korea; its global headquarters are located in Seoul in Korea. Its international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45 countries, while its domestic division serves 20 destinations. It is among the top 20 airlines in the world airlines in terms of passengers carried. Incheon International Airport serves as Korean Air's international hub. Korean Air also maintains a satellite headquarters campus at Incheon International Airport, located 30 minutes away from South Korea's capital, Seoul.

Korean Air's main global headquarters campus and its Global Operations Center are located in Gangseo-gu in Seoul. Korean Air also maintains a domestic office campus at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. Korean Air's lesser domestic superhubs are based at Jeju International Airport and Gimhae International Airport, Busan. The maintenance facilities are located in Gimhae International Airport.

Website: http://www.koreanair.com/

Air Hong Kong

AHK Air Hong Kong Limited,

Abbreviated AHK, is the only all-cargo airline based in Hong Kong. It operates regional overnight express and freight services. Its main base is Hong Kong International Airport.

History
The airline was established in 1986 and started operations in February 1988 with Boeing 707 aircraft. Scheduled services were added in 1989. Two Boeing 747-100F and two Boeing 747-200F aircraft were used until 2004. 75% of the company's share was acquired by Cathay Pacific in June 1994, followed by the remaining 25% in February 2002. In October 2002, Cathay Pacific entered into a business partnership with DHL to develop the express-freight network in Asia and at that time, and in March 2003, 30% of the company's shares were acquired by DHL. AHK was the launch customer for the Airbus A300-600GF general freighter which is a new variant of the Airbus A300F4-600R. The eighth, and the last aircraft was delivered on the 28 June 2006, with the registration code B-LDH. This new variant has a cargo-loading system capable of handling virtually every type of container and pallet, and a side door at the rear of the lower deck capable of handling large items of general freight, and is being delivered from second-half of 2004. AHK selected the CF6-80C2 engines from General Electric, and signed on to GE's Maintenance Cost Per Hour (MCPH) programme.

In November 2007, Air Hong Kong was awarded for Operational Excellence by the airplane manufacturer Airbus for achieving an overall best performance on airplane utilization, operational reliability, and average delay time.

The airline is owned by Cathay Pacific (60%) and DHL International GmbH (40%) and has 96 employees (at March 2007).

Website: http://www.airhongkong.com.hk/

Air Japan

Air Japan Co., Ltd.

Is an airline based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a wholly owned low-cost subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA) operating scheduled services under the ANA brand. It should not be confused with Air Nippon, another ANA subsidiary, or Japan Airlines (JAL), ANA's competitor. Its main base is Narita International Airport.
History
Air Japan was established as World Air Network on June 29, 1990 and became the charter airline arm of ANA, but ceased operation since September of 1995. In 2000, World Air Network was renamed Air Japan and relaunched service in 2001, the first flight being from Osaka to Seoul, South Korea.

Website: http://www.air-japan.co.jp/

Air India

Air India Limited, Hindi is the national airline of India with a worldwide network of passenger and cargo services. Air India is state-owned, and administered as part of the National Aviation Company of India Limited - which was created in 2007 to facilitate Air India's merger with Indian Airlines.The main base of operations of the airline are Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Air India has codeshare agreements with 12 other international airlines and connects over 130 destinations worldwide, including twelve gateways in India. It is also expected to formally join the Star Alliance in March 2009.
Air India is wholly-owned by the government of India. Increasing domestic competition and rising fuel prices resulted in Air India seeking US$458 million from the Indian government in the form of soft loans and fresh equity. As of September 2008, Air India has raised US$3 billion to fund the ongoing modernization and expansion of its fleet. After dominating Indian skies for years, Air India is now the second largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried after Jet Airways and is followed closely by Kingfisher Airlines. In terms of domestic market share, it is the third largest behind Jet Airways (including subsidiary Jet Lite) and Kingfisher Airlines (including subsidiary).

South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is South Africa's flag carrier and largest domestic and international airline company, with hubs in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is also known in Afrikaans as Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens (SAL), although this version of the name no longer appears on the airline's livery. South African Airways is rated by performance, revenues, safety and numerous other criteria as the best and most profitable airline in Africa and one of the top airlines in the world.
Website: http://www.flysaa.com/

Egypt Air

EgyptAir is the flag carrier airline of the Arab Republic of Egypt and a member of Star Alliance. The airline operates through its main hub at Cairo International Airport. It is wholly owned by the Egyptian government, with scheduled passenger and freighter services to more than 70 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, the USA, and Canada, as well as running an extensive domestic operations.
EgyptAir is Africa's second-largest airline. The airline joined Star Alliance on July 11 2008, becoming the first Middle Eastern member of the alliance.
The airline's logo is Horus, the sky deity in ancient Egyptian mythology, who is usually depicted as a falcon or a man with the head of a falcon. The airline has taken Horus as its logo because of it ancient symbolism as a winged god of the sun..

Air China Cargo

Air China Cargo Co., Ltd. is a cargo airline based in Beijing, China. It is an all-cargo subsidiary of Air China and operates services to 36 cities in 27 countries around the world. Its main base is Beijing Capital International Aiरपोर्ट

History.
The airline was established on 12 December 2003 and started operations in 2003। It is owned by Air China (51%), CITIC Pacific (25%) and Beijing Capital International (24%) and has 1,818 employees (at March 2007).

Website: http://www.airchina.com.cn/

Air China

Air China Limited is abbreviated as Air China and its predecessor, the old Air China, was founded in 1988. According to "Civil Aviation System Reform Program" approved and passed by the State Department, in October 2002, the old Air China combined China National Aviation Company and China Southwest Airlines and founded China Aviation Group Company. Based on the joint air transport resources of the three parties, the new Air China Company was founded. On September 30th, 2004, approved by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of State Council (SASAC) as the main air transport company controlled by China Aviation Group, Air China Limited was founded in Beijing in due form, with 23,000 employees, registered capital of RMB 6.5 billion and the paid-up capital of RMB 9.433 billion. On December 15th, 2004, Air China successfully listed in Hong Kong (HKEx: 0753 and London (trading code: AIRC). With excellent profitability, Air China has made profits for seven consecutive years since 2001, which is the leading position in China civil aviation industry.

The enterprise logo of Air China is an artistic Phoenix pattern, the Chinese version of Air China Limited written by Mr. Deng Xiaoping and its English translation AIR CHINA. The Phoenix is a divine bird in the ancient Chinese legend as well as the lucky bird adored by Chinese people since ancient times. According to records from Shan Hai Jing, the phoenix came from an oriental country called Junzi; she flies across the great Kunlun Mountain and over all the oceans; wherever she flies, she brings auspiciousness and peace. The logo of Air China is the phoenix and it also is the artistic transfiguration of the word. The color is the traditional Chinese red which implies auspiciousness, completion, peace and happiness, and expresses Air China sincere passion to serve the society and endless pursue of the safety enterprise. Air China corporate culture emphasizes service and transcends its values in the new era. The desire and orientation of Air China is an air company with an international reputation, the connotation of which is to realize four strategic targets of achieving leading competitiveness in the world, continuously developing and steadily increasing profits and providing excellent and unique travel experiences for passengers. Its enterprise spirit emphasizes serve the world with a warm heart and guide the future by innovation. Its enterprise mission is to meet the requirements of customers and create mutual values. Its enterprise sense of worth is to make a high level of service and get the universal approval of the public. Its service notion is reassurance, satisfaction, easiness, and sensation The enterprise culture of Air China has expressed its notion of spreading love all over the world and pursuing excellent service quality.

Emirates SkyCargo

Emirates SkyCargo is the award-winning air freight division of Emirates Airline. Established in 1985, we quickly built a reputation for leading the industry in innovation, flexibility and service.
Today, we continue to set the standard. Flying to over 100 destinations worldwide, we pride ourselves on offering our customers comprehensive cargo solutions. Through SkyChain, our online cargo logistics system, we're changing the way the cargo business works, empowering our customers with the tools they need to control their consignments better.
Our cargo solutions have been developed to provide our customers with cutting-edge air freight services. Our Priority Products assure on-time delivery throughout the world, while our extensive trucking and offline partner networks ensure comprehensive coverage where our customers need it most.
Our fleet, too, demonstrates our commitment to excellence. Amongst the youngest of any airline, it comprises the latest wide-body jets from Airbus and Boeing. We were the first major airline to place an order for the revolutionary Airbus A380 super jumbo.
In everything we do, quality is our watchword. We're particularly proud that our efforts have been recognised throughout the industry. We won a clutch of awards: Best Airline to the Middle East 2008 at the Air Cargo News (UK) Cargo Airline of the Year Awards for an incredible 20th consecutive year;Air Cargo Carrier of the Year at Air Cargo India 2008 in Mumbai; Air Cargo Carrier of the Year at the Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards in Hong Kong, Best Carrier to the Middle East for the 10th year in a row at the annual Italian Association of Airfreight Forwarders (ANAMA) conference; Cargo Airline of the Year from Air Cargo Week, Best Air Cargo Carrier – Middle East at the Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards in Macau; Top 10 Airlines by Cargo Carriage at the Changi Airline Awards in Singapore; Best Airline to Africa 2007 at the 2007 Air Cargo News Awards; Premio Flyer Award 2007 at the 3rd Aviation Night and Best Air Cargo Carrier at MELA 2007.

Emirates Airline

Emirates Airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2007 the airline was the eighth-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and fifth-largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometres flown. It is also the ninth-largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown (eighth in scheduled international freight tonne-kilometres flown). The airline ranks amongst the top 10 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue, and has become the largest airline in the Middle East in terms of revenue, fleet size, and passengers carried and is the eighth largest airline in Asia, in terms of passengers carried. The airline operates over 3,710 passenger flights per week, to 91 destinations in 55 countries. Cargo activities are undertaken by the Emirates Group's Emirates SkyCargo division. Its main base is Dubai International Airport. On 16 October 2008, Emirates moved all operations at Dubai International Airport to Terminal 3, a new terminal dedicated exclusively to Emirates. Terminal 3 is over 1,500,000 m2 (370 acres), the single largest terminal building in the world.
During the 2007/08 financial year, Emirates carried 21.2 million passengers. A total of 1.3 million tonnes of cargo was transported by Emirates Airline and Emirates SkyCargo, the freight subsidiary of The Emirates Group.
Emirates is one of only five airlines to operate an all wide-body aircraft fleet. Emirates will have 122 Boeing 777s in its fleet by 2011 making it the single largest aircraft type in fleet, and 58 Airbus A380s by 2012। The airline also hopes to have over 120 Airbus A350's in its fleet by 2016। The airline expects to have over 200 aircraft in its fleet by 2013. Current orders suggest, that Emirates will have over 500 aircraft in their fleet by 2021.

Emirates became the second operator of the Airbus A380 when their first aircraft was delivered on 28 July, 2008. It is now in operation on the Dubai to New York JFK route.