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A mainline flight is a flight operated by an airline's main operating unit, rather than by regional alliances, regional code-shares, regional subsidiaries, or wholly owned subsidiaries offering low-cost operations. Mainline carriers typically operate between hub airports within their network and on international or long-haul services, using narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. This is in contrast to regional airlines, providing feeder services to hub airports operating smaller turboprop or regional jet aircraft, or low-cost carrier subsidiaries serving leisure markets.
In the United States, examples of mainline passenger airline flights include those operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines; but not flights operated by regional airlines Envoy Air, Mesa Airlines, Executive Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, or PSA Airlines with regional jets or the services of regional airline marketing brands such as American Eagle, Delta Connection, or United Express aboard lower-capacity narrowbody jets and turboprop aircraft, such as those produced by Embraer or Bombardier, that do not have transcontinental range.
U.S. legacy carriers may operate branded mainline services using the same flight crews and AOC as that of their mainline operations. For example, United p.s. and American Flagship Service cater to the medium-haul transcontinental business segment. Short-haul air shuttles, such as Delta Shuttle, operate at high frequency intervals between busy city pairs. Previously, U.S. legacy carriers operated low-cost air services within their mainline operations to compete with low-cost carriers; these operations were short-lived and included brands such as Continental Lite, Song (Delta), and Ted (United). Outside the U.S., low-cost carrier subsidiary airlines are more common, with examples including Air Canada Rouge, Jetstar Airways (subsidiary of Qantas), and Eurowings (subsidiary of Lufthansa).
An airline carrier's collective bargaining agreement with flight crews stipulates the maximum seating capacity of regional aircraft; as such, any aircraft that exceeds this capacity must operate as a mainline flight. The converse is not the case; mainline flight crews, with proper type ratings, may operate aircraft that are smaller than typical mainline aircraft.
Notes:
1Though not part of the main "legacy airline" or "flag carrier", these particular airlines are often described as "regional airlines" by the mainline airline counterparts they are affiliated or owned by.
2These airline businesses resultant of airline liberalization in Europe, really do not have a "mainline brand", but do have unified brandings across multiple individual airline certificates forming "virtual airlines" much like the American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express banner branded regional airlines in the United States.
Mainline Airline | Regional Marketing Brand 1 | Regional Airline Affiliates2 (Independently Owned) |
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Aeromexico |
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Air Canada | ||
Alaska Airlines |
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American Airlines |
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Delta Air Lines |
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Hawaiian Airlines |
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United Airlines |
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JetBlue Airways |
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WestJet • Swoop | ||
Interjet |
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Southwest Airlines |
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Sun Country Airlines |
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Allegiant Airlines |
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Frontier Airlines |
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Spirit Airlines |
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Volaris |
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Notes:
1 Branding used for regional feeder service and commuter flights. Operated either by a regional subsidiary or under contract by an independent regional airline.
2These airlines are independent and not subsidiaries of mainline air carriers.
3 These independent airlines operate regional aircraft under codeshare agreements with a mainline carrier.
4 Independent airlines operating under a capacity purchase agreement with their mainline partner
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2009) |
Endeavor Air is an American regional airline headquartered at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and staffs, operates and maintains aircraft used on Delta Connection flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by Delta Air Lines.
Mesaba Aviation, Inc. was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1944 until 2012, when it merged with Pinnacle Airlines to form Endeavor Air. It was based in Eagan, Minnesota From 2010 to 2012 the airline was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. with code sharing flights operated as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines and US Airways Express for US Airways. Previously, the airline operated code sharing service as Northwest Airlink and Northwest Jetlink on behalf of Northwest Airlines which subsequently merged with Delta. Mesaba also previously operated connecting flight services in association with Republic Airlines before this air carrier was subsequently merged into Northwest. Mesaba Airlines effectively ceased operations on January 4, 2012, when all aircraft and personnel were transitioned to the Pinnacle Airlines operating certificate. Mesaba's operating certificate was surrendered on July 31, 2012.
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which five individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and subsequently operated as US Airways Express on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier. Between March 2018 and April 2023, Air Wisconsin operated exclusively as a United Express regional air carrier once again with primary hubs located at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). This came to an end in April 2023 as the carrier switched to conducting solely American Eagle branded flights, per a new contract with American Airlines.
Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of Continental's merger with United Airlines, two carriers were operating using the Continental Express brand name:
US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously operated as USAir Express. Mainline carriers often outsource to regional airlines to operate services in order to increase frequency, serve routes that would not sustain larger aircraft, or for other competitive reasons. US Airways Express operations were conducted from smaller markets in the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas primarily centered on US Airways' major hubs and focus cities.
Lafayette Regional Airport(French: Aéroport régional de Lafayette) is a public use airport two miles (4 km) southeast of Lafayette, in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the City Parish of Lafayette.
A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North America, most regional airlines are classified as "fee-for-departure" carriers, operating their revenue flights as codeshare services contracted by one or more major airline partners. A number of regional airlines, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, were classified as commuter airlines in the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (LCC), also called no-frills, budget or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries, for cheaper fares. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge extra fees such as for carry-on baggage. As of April 2020, the world's largest low-cost carrier is Southwest Airlines, which operates primarily in the United States, as well as in some surrounding areas.
Shuttle by United was an "airline within an airline" operated as a subsidiary of United Airlines from 1994 to 2001 along the West Coast of the United States. It operated from San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Shuttle's fleet consisted of Boeing 737-300s and 737-500s. The service was eventually renamed United Shuttle before it was shut down by United and its aircraft returned to mainline service with the airline.
CityFlyer Express was a short-haul regional airline with its head office in the Iain Stewart Centre next to London Gatwick Airport in England.
AirUK was a wholly privately owned, independent regional British airline formed in 1980 as a result of a merger involving four rival UK-based regional airlines. British and Commonwealth (B&C)-owned British Island Airways (BIA) and Air Anglia were the two dominant merger partners. The merged entity's corporate headquarters were originally located at Redhill, Surrey, the location of the old BIA head office. It subsequently relocated to Crawley, West Sussex. In addition to the main maintenance base at Norwich Airport, there also used to be a second major maintenance base at Blackpool Airport. This was closed down following Air UK's major retrenchment during Britain's severe recession of the early 1980s. In 1987, Air UK established Air UK Leisure as a charter subsidiary. The following year, Air UK shifted its headquarters to London Stansted Airport. When Stansted's new Norman Foster-designed terminal opened in 1991, the airline became its first and subsequently main tenant.
Ted was one of two airline divisional brands of United Airlines. It targeted vacation locations primarily served by the low cost airline market, in contrast to the company's high-end premium transcontinental brand, United p.s.. "Ted" comes from the last three letters in the United brand name. United marketed Ted anthropomorphically and attempted to personify Ted; it used phrases such as Meet Ted or I've Met Ted.
Casper–Natrona County International Airport is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Casper, in Natrona County, Wyoming. Before December 19, 2007, the airport was called Natrona County International Airport.
ExpressJet Airlines was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1987 until 2022. It was headquartered in College Park, Georgia. The company originally operated as a contracted codeshare partner, flying under the American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express brands at various points in history. In September 2020, it exited the fee-for-departure airline market and temporarily ceased flights after the conclusion of its contract with its sole remaining mainline partner, United Airlines. In September 2021, ExpressJet resumed operations as both an air charter provider and a regional airline under its own brand aha!—short for "Air-Hotel-Adventure." The brand's route structure focused on the West Coast of the United States with a hub at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and scheduled flights began on October 24, 2021. The airline, including its brand aha!, filed for bankruptcy on August 23, 2022, having ceased all operations the previous day. In July 2023, the airline announced plans to relaunch as an air charter service using a single leased Boeing 777.
Presidential Airways was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia. It was founded in 1985 by Harold J. (Hap) Pareti, formerly an officer at People Express Airlines, known as PEOPLExpress a low-cost carrier, with Boeing 737-200 service from Washington Dulles to Boston Logan in Massachusetts commencing October 10 of that year. A small fleet of B737-200 jetliners were initially operated by the airline.
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of the most widespread Canadair Regional Jet and its Embraer Regional Jet counterpart, then the larger Embraer E-Jet and multiple competing projects. In the US, they are limited in size by scope clauses.
A legacy carrier, in the United States, is an airline that had established interstate routes before the beginning of the route liberalization permitted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, and was therefore directly affected by it. Legacy carriers are distinct from low-cost carriers, which, in the United States, are generally new airlines that entered the market after 1978 to compete in the newly deregulated industry.
Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to operate services via code sharing agreements in order to increase frequencies in addition to serving routes that would not sustain larger aircraft as well as for other competitive or operational reasons.
American Eagle is a US brand name for the regional branch of American Airlines, under which six individual regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. Three of these airlines, Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA Airlines, are wholly owned subsidiaries of the American Airlines Group. American Eagle's largest hub is Charlotte Douglas International's Concourse E, which operates over 340 flights per day, making it the largest express flight operation in the world.
[1] AA and early references to mainline, regional and B-scale.
[2] Business model of new Airlines like GLO not operating their own aircraft but leasing them from other certificated air carriers, and creating their own airline brand without the actual assets of a true airline.