Longest-Lived Airlines in History

Ranking airlines by total verified operational span in years, spanning operating pioneers and historical carriers that sustained flight networks for generations.

Key Facts: Operational Longevity

The longest-lived carriers in history maintained continuous operations for over 60 to 100 years.
Defunct icons like Pan Am (64 years), TWA (76 years), Sabena (78 years), and Swissair (71 years) flew across seven decades before bankruptcy or acquisition.
Operational spans reflect resilience across regulatory changes, oil shocks, and corporate reorganizations.

Rank	Airline Name	Country	Status	Founded	Ceased	Operational Span
1	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	Netherlands	active	1919	Operating	107 years
2	Qantas	Australia	active	1920	Operating	106 years
3	Delta Air Lines	United States	active	1925	Operating	101 years
4	American Airlines	United States	active	1926	Operating	100 years
5	United Airlines	United States	active	1926	Operating	100 years
6	Air France	France	active	1933	Operating	93 years
7	Turkish Airlines	Turkey	active	1933	Operating	93 years
8	Air Canada	Canada	active	1937	Operating	89 years
9	Air New Zealand	New Zealand	active	1940	Operating	86 years
10	Ethiopian Airlines	Ethiopia	active	1945	Operating	81 years
11	Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong SAR of China	active	1946	Operating	80 years
12	Singapore Airlines	Singapore	active	1947	Operating	79 years
13	Alitalia	Italy	defunct	1946	2021	75 years
14	All Nippon Airways	Japan	active	1952	Operating	74 years
15	Lufthansa	Germany	active	1953	Operating	73 years
16	Swissair	Switzerland	defunct	1931	2002	71 years
17	Braniff International Airways	United States	defunct	1928	1982	54 years
18	British Airways	United Kingdom	active	1974	Operating	52 years
19	Emirates	United Arab Emirates	active	1985	Operating	41 years
20	Air Berlin	Germany	defunct	1978	2017	39 years
21	Qatar Airways	Qatar	active	1993	Operating	33 years
22	WestJet	Canada	active	1996	Operating	30 years
23	1Time Airline	South Africa	defunct	2003	2012	9 years