Airline names are more than just a combination of letters and words; they are a reflection of the airline’s identity, values, and aspirations.
They have the power to evoke emotions, create brand loyalty and even influence travel decisions.
Airline names fall into three main categories: geographic, names based on owners and names based on branding.
The geographic category is by far the largest. The airlines are named after the country in which the airlines are based and most are called flag carriers.
Before the assignment of aircraft nationality markings to countries by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), aviation followed maritime law and had to display the flag of its home country, which was painted on the aircraft fuselage.
Passengers' expectations are that when travelling with a geographic airline, the services offered, particularly the inflight service, reflect the country’s history, cultural heritage and customs. This is evident in airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, in the traditional uniforms worn by the flight attendants and the inflight service, including the food served.
In the Asia Pacific region, there are Air China, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Korean Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Air India and Pakistan Airlines.
In the South Asia-Pacific region, there are Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Fiji Airways.
The Australian flag carrier’s name, Qantas, is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services.
In the Middle East, there are Saudia, Emirates, Egypt Air, and Qatar Airways.
[caption id="attachment_1038649" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A Virgin Atlantic boeing 747 aircraft. via AP -[/caption]
In Africa, there are South African Airlines, Nigeria Air, Ethiopian Airlines and Air Alegrie.
In Europe, there are British Airways, Air France, Scandinavian Air Services (SA), Swissair, Air Portugal (TAP) and Turkish Airlines.
In the North American region, there are Air Canada, American Airlines and Aero Mexico.
In South America, there are Aerolineas Argentinas, Boliviana de Aviacion and Lan Chile which is now part of the LATAM Airlines Group.
In the Caricom region, there are Suriname Airlines, Air Guyana, Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT), Air Jamaica, Fly Jamaica, Cayman Islands Airways, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Air and Bahamasair.
There are three airlines that were named after their owners.
On February 17 1927, William Boeing formed the Boeing Air Transport Company to fly the contract air mail service between San Francisco and Chicago with effect from July 1, 1927.
The route was initially operated by single-engine Boeing 40A biplanes carrying up to four passengers, which provided a useful supplement to the subsidised revenue from carrying airmail.
Boeing subsequently decided the company’s core business would be the manufacture of aircraft, and divested the airline operations to another company that eventually became United Airlines.
Trump Shuttle, Inc. was an airline owned by busine
