Passenger airline
Encyclopedia
A passenger airline is an airline
dedicated to the transport
of passenger
s. Cf. cargo airline
. Passenger airlines usually operate a fleet of passenger aircraft which, rather than being owned outright, are usually leased from commercial aircraft sales and leasing
companies such as GECAS and ILFC.
There are several types of passenger airlines, mainly
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
dedicated to the transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
of passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s. Cf. cargo airline
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
. Passenger airlines usually operate a fleet of passenger aircraft which, rather than being owned outright, are usually leased from commercial aircraft sales and leasing
Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing
Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing is a common phrase used to describe organizations which typically market used commercial airliners and related equipment to governments and other various customers from manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing as a primary function...
companies such as GECAS and ILFC.
There are several types of passenger airlines, mainly
- Charter airlines, operating outside of regular schedule intervals
- Commuter airlines, servicing smaller communities; sometimes known as feeder airlines (and no longer air taxiAir taxiAn air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
s due the advent of VLJs) - Legacy airlineLegacy carrierA legacy carrier, in the United States, is an airline that had established interstate routes by the time of the route liberalization which was permitted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and was thus directly affected by that act...
, Legacy carrierLegacy carrierA legacy carrier, in the United States, is an airline that had established interstate routes by the time of the route liberalization which was permitted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and was thus directly affected by that act... - Low-cost airlineLow-cost carrierA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
s, giving a "basic", "no-frills" and perceived inexpensive service - Mainline airlinesMainline (flight)A mainline flight is a flight operated by an airline's main operating unit, rather than by regional alliances, regional code-shares or regional subsidiaries...
, the major "trunk" international airlines - Pseudo airlines, airline marketing brands such as American Connection or US Airways ExpressUS Airways ExpressUS Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...
, often mistaken for independent and fully certificatedOperating certificateOperating certificate is a category of license issued by a government agency allowing an individual or company to provide a controlled type of service. These certificates are generally issued for a limited time period...
airlines - Regional airlineRegional airlineRegional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
s, non-"mainline" airlines with aircraft seating up to 100 passengers and operating over shorter non-intercontinental distances - Network Airlines are usually larger airlines with an internationalInternational----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
route network which actively markets connecting flights via airline hubAirline hubAn airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
airports and provides the respective transfer services for passengers and their baggage. Additionally, network airlines, tend to have larger mainline narrowbody aircraft among their multiple fleet mix types (contrary to a typical low-cost carriers single fleet type), provide services to smaller communities through code-share regional airlineRegional airlineRegional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
affiliates, subsidiaries,or franchise partners.http://www.lhsystems.com/media/glossary/index.htm#N