Although the aviation industry took a serious hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, it now looks well on its way to recovery. In 2023, 4.2 billion people are predicted to take a commercial flight – meaning the industry will make an overall profit for the first time since 2019. As we enter an exciting new era for aviation, discover some of the most fascinating facts about the world’s leading airlines.
Dutch operator KLM – whose full name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij means Royal Aviation Company – is the oldest airline still running. It was founded in 1919 and began operating flights between London and Amsterdam the following year. Today, it’s part of the Air France-KLM group following a merger in 2005, although flights still run under the KLM name.
Up until the early 1970s, flying on a plane meant a choice between fancy first class or basic economy seats. But in that decade, a number of airlines began to realise business travellers wanted something in between, and began marketing a section of economy seats to businesspeople. In 1979, Qantas was the first to offer an exclusive Business Class ticket as we know it today, with wider, more comfortable seats, improved food options and free drinks as well as access to a lounge. Pictured is one of its business class seats today.
In 1960, 12-year old Bonnie Tiburzi took her first flying lesson and within a few years was a skilled aviator. She told her father, who ran the flight school, that she wanted to be a pilot when she grew up, but he didn’t take her seriously. After tirelessly applying for pilot jobs for several years, she was finally accepted by American Airlines in 1973, at the age of 24, becoming the first female pilot in the world.
According to its website, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair started off with just £1 ($1.32) of share capital. The budget airline was started by (you guessed it) the Ryan family in 1985, and its first route operated on a 15-seater plane between Waterford, Ireland and London Gatwick. Cabin crew had to be less than five-foot-two-inches-tall (157cm) to fit onto the tiny planes. Seen here is Jane O'Keeffe, Ryanair’s one-millionth passenger, in 1988.
In 1987, American Airlines wanted to cut costs, so they removed a single olive from each plate of salad served in first class. The total saving of this small action was reportedly a whopping £30,114 ($40,000) a year. Meanwhile, in 2011, Northwest Airlines allegedly saved £376,432 ($500,000) a year by cutting limes into 16 slices instead of 10.
Nowadays, many travellers opt to check-in digitally and save time at the airport. This is a relatively new invention, though not as new as you might think. In September 1999, Alaska Airlines was the first operator to offer online check-in as the dot-com era boomed. The first customer to use the service, Kathy Bloom, was part of a tech company trialling the process and said at the time: “I found the process easy and quick, and I'm for anything that will save time at the airport.” We couldn’t agree more, Kathy.
British pop sensation Spice Girls launched their first album with the Virgin record label in 1996. So in 2007, Virgin Atlantic named a Boeing 747 jet in their honour. The name, Spice One, was chosen after the musical group held a competition online, inviting fans to submit their suggestions.
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In 2011, Virgin Atlantic conducted a survey on its Facebook page in which 55% of women and 44% of men said they felt more emotional while on a plane. In response, the airline began issuing warnings (pictured) at the beginning of particularly sad in-flight movies, advising viewers to keep a box of tissues at the ready and call if they needed a shoulder to cry on. It’s thought that heightened emotions could be caused by increased oxytocin levels during travel.
In news that’s probably not so shocking to British readers, the airline which serves up a whopping 35 million cups of tea per year is, of course, British Airways. So it was no surprise when in 2013 the carrier teamed up with Twinings to produce its own blend. The signature tea is specially developed to taste as good as possible at 35,000 feet (10,668m), allowing for the fact that food and drinks taste different due to reduced air pressure and humidity.
You’ve heard of Snakes on a Plane. Now get ready for its budget spinoff: falcons on a plane. Believe it or not, these feathered creatures are allowed on flights offered by several major carriers, including Qatar, Emirates, Etihad and Royal Jordanian Airlines. That’s because falcons are seen as a status symbol in some parts of the Middle East, so much so that some falcon-owners have been allowed to bring them onto planes. The UAE allegedly issued more than 28,000 falcon passports between 2002 and 2013.
Launched in 2014, the Etihad Residence is the most luxurious flying experience you could conceive of. But it doesn’t come cheap: at up to £56,333 ($68,000) for a one-way ticket, it’s the most expensive plane ticket in the world. Included in the price is a limo ride to the airport, a personal butler on the plane, access to Etihad’s First Class lounge, gourmet dining options and a queen-sized bed onboard.
It’s thought that 85-year-old Bette Nash is the oldest and longest-serving flight attendant in the world, having had a career that’s spanned 65 years. The octogenarian, pictured here in 2017, began working as cabin crew at Eastern in November 1957, but currently works for American Airlines. In 2017, the airline marked Nash’s 60-year work anniversary by donating £7,540 ($10,000) to Sacred Heart Catholic Church Food Bank, where she regularly volunteers.
In 2018 and 2019, American Airlines’ advantage scheme AAdvantage generated £4.4 billion ($5.8bn) for the business. In fact, that’s higher than the company’s total operating income, which was £4.3 billion ($5.7bn) for those two years – in other words, the airline makes more through its rewards scheme than through selling tickets. It was only through a third-party valuation of the AAdvantage programme that American managed to secure its £3.8 billion ($5bn) loan from the US government during COVID-19.
The juggernaut also had the highest revenue of any operator globally, earning $127 million (£105.2m) net income in 2023. American has achieved its dominance by acquiring and merging with more than 80 smaller airlines throughout its almost century-long history.
According to flight tracking platform Flightradar24, the average flight between London and New York takes just over six hours. But on 9 February 2020, a British Airways flight achieved the distance in a speedy four hours and 56 minutes, making it the fastest subsonic flight between the two cities. The Boeing 747 was aided by strong winds from Storm Ciara, which helped it to reach a top speed of 825 miles per hour (1,328km/h).
Even during the pandemic, the world’s most frequent flyer managed to rack up a million miles (1.6 million km) in just nine months, while most of us wouldn’t be able to fly that far in a lifetime. Tom Stuker hit his most recent landmark of 22 million miles (35.4 million km) in September 2020. All of those air miles were flown with United, which makes him a Global Services member (the highest tier on the airline’s reward scheme) more than five times over. He fell in love with flying after travelling to Australia for work in 1984 and since then he’s become a self-confessed “flying junkie”.
US airlines rule the global rankings when it comes to the number of flights they offer per month. In November 2021, American Airlines had a whopping 170,967 flights, according to aviation data source OAG. American carriers Delta, United and Southwest came in second, third and fourth place respectively, while European airline Ryanair was fifth.
It’s perhaps no surprise then, that American also has the largest fleet with over 900 planes in total. Of those, the most popular is the Boeing 737, of which the carrier has 345. Out of the top ten largest fleets globally, all but one (Ryanair) are American or Chinese companies.
Nervous flyers should book with Qantas if they want to steady their nerves: the airline has not recorded a single crash in more than 70 years. For that reason, as well as other factors, including fleet age and safety compliance, Qantas was recognised as the safest airline in the world by Airlineratings.com. Air New Zealand, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines came in second, third, fourth and fifth places respectively.
Based on customer surveys, SKYTRAX has been running its World Airline Awards since 1999, and in that time Qatar Airways has won seven times. The carrier won in 2022, based on data from millions of respondents. The main areas which the survey evaluated were COVID-19 safety measures, cabin service, ground and airport facilities and onboard facilities.
SKYTRAX’s survey also shed light on the airline with the best cabin crew – this time Singapore Airlines came out trumps. According to their website, staff undergo a rigorous four-month training programme which is “one of the longest and most comprehensive in the airline industry” before they’re able to take to the skies.
Not everyone can afford to spend megabucks on a single flight, so it’s a good thing budget airlines are upping the ante to provide high-quality service to passengers at a lower cost. AirAsia was awarded the best low-cost carrier for the 13th year in a row by SKYTRAX and has been recognised by the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards and other industry accolades for its budget offering.
United Airlines has shown what a lower-emissions aviation future could look like. On 1 December 2021, the American carrier flew the world’s first-ever passenger flight using 100% sustainable biofuel. The 612-mile (985km) flight took place between Chicago O’Hare and Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport, emitting 75% less CO2 than a flight using conventional fuel. Then, in 2022, Airbus performed a test flight on its behemoth A380s with 100% biofuel; proving that no plane is too heavy to fly using greener fuel. The sky really is the limit.
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