By: Rob Mulder
For: www.europeanairlines.no
The informative and unfortunately short-lived aviation magazine “The Putnam Aeronautical Review” published in its issue of October 1989 an article from the hand of John Stroud. In this article he deals with the question that was first to open an air service and which qualifications were made in order to establish who was first. We would like to extend the information to the readers by adding a detailed review over all European countries and which airline company was the first in that country.
Qualification explained
But first of all we would like to repeat some of the qualification that John Stroud mentioned in his article and which were used in our article as well. John Stroud wrote: “The establishment of first in air transport represents us with the same need for qualifications. In this case six are required to establish the beginning of regular, daily, scheduled, international passenger-carrying commercial air services: passenger, civil, regular, international and sustained. (Even the term daily needs qualification because it was frequently used to denote Monday to Saturday inclusive.)
The first scheduled passenger air service, opened on 1 January 1914 between St Petersburg and Tampa by St Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, met four of the qualifications but was neither international nor sustained. The Austro-Hungarian air mail service between Vienna and Kiev, begun on 20 March 1918, was not operated daily, did not carry passengers and was, at least in part, a military operation – but it was the first regular scheduled international air mail service. On 15 May 1918, the United States Post Office began New York – Washington and Washington – New York mail services. These met four of the qualifications but were not international and did not carry passengers. When Deutsche Luft-Reederei began its Berlin – Weimar service on 5 February 1919, it met all the qualifications except international. Lignes Aériennes Farman began Paris – Brussels service on 22 March 1919, but these were weekly and so failed to meet the qualification daily.
Finally, on 25 August 1919, the British airline Aircraft Transport & Travel met all six qualifications when it inaugurated a regular, sustained, civil, daily (Monday to Saturday) passenger service between London and Paris.”
Thus we have explained the qualifications and we can now start to go over the European countries (except the United Kingdom, see above). With “Aircraft used” we mean the type of aircraft used on the first flight.
| Albania Company: Adria Aero LloydFounded: 1 February 1925Air service: Tiranë – Skhodër – Vlorë – KorcëPassenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year International: No Aircraft used: AEG K |
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| AustriaCompany: Österreichische Luftverkehrs AGFounded: 14 May 1923
Air service: Wien (Vienna) – Budapest Opened: March 1923 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes (1) Sustained: – Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| BelgiumCompany: Syndicate National pour l’Etude du Transport AérienFounded: November 1919
Air service: Brussels – Paris Opened: 1920 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Breguet XIV A.2 |
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| BulgariaCompany: Bunavad – Bulgarian National Airline CompanyFounded: 9 October 1925
Air service: Sofia – Ruse – Varna and Sofia – Plovdiv – Burgas Opened: October 1927 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| CzechoslovakiaCompany: Československe Státni Aerolinie – ČSAFounded: 6 October 1923
Air service: Praha (Prag) – Bratislava – Kosice – Uzorod Opened: 15 March 1924 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: – Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: Aero A-14 |
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| DenmarkCompany: Det Danske Luftfartselskab AS – DDLFounded: 29 October 1919
Air service: København – Warnemünde Opened: 7 August 1920 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: Yes Aircraft used: Friedrichshafen FF 49C |
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| EstoniaCompany: A-S AeronautFounded: 22 March 1921
Air service: Tallinn – Riga Opened: 29 July 1921 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Sablatnig P.I |
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| FinlandCompany: Aero O/yFounded: 1 November 1923
Air service: Helsinki – Tallinn Opened: 20 March 1924 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| FranceCompany: Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes – CMAFounded: February 1919
Air service: Paris – Lille Opened: 18 April 1919 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Breguet 14T |
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| Freistaat DanzigCompany: Danziger Luftreederei GmbHFounded: 27 October 1919
Air service: Danzig – Königsberg – Memel – Riga – Tallinn Opened: 1921 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Fokker-Grulich F.II |
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| GermanyCompany: Deutsche Luft-Reederei GmbHFounded: 13 December 1917
Air service: Berlin – Weimar Opened: 5 February 1919 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: AEG J.II |
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| GibraltarCompany: Gibraltar Airways LtdFounded: December 1930
Air service: Gibraltar – Tanger Opened: 23 September 1931 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: Yes Aircraft used: Saro A.21 |
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| GreeceCompany: Elliniki Etairia Enaerion Synkoinonion AEFounded: 9 July 1930
Air service: Athínia – Thessaloniki Opened: 1 June 1931 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: Junkers G 24he |
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| HungaryCompany: Magyar Aeroforgalmi RTFounded: February 1920
Air service: Budapest – Szombathely, Budapest – Miskolc and Budapest – Szeged Opened: 12 May 1920 Passenger: No (2) Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Phönix C I |
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| IcelandCompany: Flugfélag Akureyrar h/fFounded: 3 June 1937
Air service: Akureyrar – Reykjavik Opened: 1938 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: Waco YKS-7 |
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| ItalyCompany: Società Italiana Servizi AereiFounded: 1923
Air service: Torino – Pavia – Venezia – Triest Opened: 1 April 1926 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: Cant 10ter |
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| LatviaCompany: Latvijas Gaisa Satiksmes A/SFounded: 31 July 1921
Air service: Tallinn – Riga – Kaunus – Königsberg Opened: 7 March 1922 (3) Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| Liechtenstein and Luxembourg had no airline companies | |
| LithuaniaCompany: Lietuvos Oro LinijosFounded: 31 July 1921
Air service: Tallinn – Riga – Kaunus – Königsberg Opened: 7 March 1922 (3) Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| NetherlandsCompany: Koninklijke Luchvaart Maatschappijvoor Nederland en Koloniën
Founded: 7 October 1919 Air service: Amsterdam – London (6) Opened: 17 May 1920 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Airco DH 16 |
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| NorwayCompany: Det Norske Luftfartsrederi ASFounded: 18 March 1918
Air service: Bergen – Haugesund – Stavanger (4) Opened: 16 August 1920 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Supermarine Channel |
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| PolandCompany: Aero TargFounded: 10 May 1921
Air service: Warszawa – Poznan Opened: 29 May 1921 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| PortugalCompany: Sociadade Aero-Portuguesa Ltda.Founded: 22 June 1934
Air service: Lisboa – Tanger Opened: 20 October 1934 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Wibault 283 |
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| RomaniaCompany: Serviciul National de Navigatie Aeriana – SNNAFounded: 1928
Air service: Bucaresti – Constanta Opened: August 1928 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 2 years Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Farman F 60 (?) |
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| Saarland had no airline company that operated air services | |
| SlovakiaCompany: Slovenská Letecká A/SFounded: 19 June 1939
Air service: Bratislava – Wien (Vienna) Opened: 28 June 1939 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 2 years Permanent: No International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers Ju 86 |
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| SpainCompany: Compañia Aéromaritima Mallorquina SAFounded: 29 March 1921
Air service: Palma de Mallorca – Barcelona Opened: 20 March 1922 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: No Aircraft used: Macchi M 18 |
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| SwedenCompany: Svenska Lufttrafik AB – SLAFounded: 7 February 1919
Air service: København – Malmö – Warnemünde Opened: 7 August 1920 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: No International: Yes Aircraft used: Unknown |
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| SwitzerlandCompany: Ad Astra Aero AG (5)Founded: 1920
Air service: Genève – Zürich – Nürnberg/Fürth Opened: 1 June 1922 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: 1 year Permanent: Yes International: Yes Aircraft used: Junkers F 13 |
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| YugoslaviaCompany: AeroputFounded: 29 May 1927
Air service: Beograd – Zagreb Opened: 15 February 1928 Passenger: Yes Civil: Yes Regular: Yes Sustained: Yes Permanent: Yes International: No Aircraft used: Potez 29-2 |
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Notes:
(1) In co-operation with Trans Europa Union
(2) Air mail service
(3) In co-operation with Osteuropa Union
(4) On 12 July 1920 a naval airmail service was opened.
(5) Full name of the company: Schweizerische Luftverkehrs Aktiengesellschaft Ad Astra Aero, Avion Tourisme Société Anonyme – Ad Astra Aero.
(6) The world’s oldest surviving air service. In 2005 existed for 90 years.
In the future we will describe many of these airline companies on our website.