A legacy carrier, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is an airline that had established interstate routes before the beginning of the route

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

permitted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and so was directly affected by that Act. Legacy carriers are distinct from

low-cost carriers A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

, which, in the United States, are generally new airlines and were started to compete in the newly deregulated industry.

Background

A typical characteristic of legacy carriers is that they usually provide higher quality services than a low-cost carrier; for example, a legacy carrier typically offers first class and business class seating, a

frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

, and exclusive airport lounges. Many legacy carriers are also members of an

airline alliance An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...

through which they agree to provide those services to each other's passengers. Also, legacy carriers generally have better cabin services, such as meal service and

in-flight entertainment In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship ''LZ 129 Hindenburg, Hindenburg'' offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the ...

. The term 'legacy carrier' has generally not been used outside the United States. Many other countries have long-established flag carriers that are or were historically owned by or often given preferential treatment by their national governments. The national airlines occupy a position roughly equivalent to the American legacy carriers on quality of service and membership in international alliances compared to newer low-cost carriers. None of the American legacy carriers is an official flag carrier of the United States. Since the Deregulation Act, many legacy carriers have folded or merged with other carriers. Those that survived now benefit from the fact that low-cost carriers no longer hold large cost advantages over the major legacy carriers. There are currently three U.S.-based legacy carriers left that operate transcontinental and overseas route networks. A trend among legacy carriers is to outsource short-haul and medium-haul flights to

regional airline 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 ...

s. In 2011, 61% of all advertised flights by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, United, and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

were operated by a regional airline, an increase from 40% in 2000. Another trend is for legacy carriers to aggressively challenge the low cost carriers resulting in some LCCs failing.

Active legacy carriers

The list has shrunk over the years. In 2005 there were four legacy airlines which were under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More mergers took place in the decade 2010-2019 and more low cost carriers emerged. As of 2020, the list of legacy carriers remaining after 10 years of mergers is as follows: * Alaska Airlines *

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

* Hawaiian Airlines *

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Defunct legacy carriers

Through the mid-20th century, the "Big Four" airlines in the United States were

, Eastern,

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

, and United. Additionally,

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

focused exclusively on international service and was the unofficial U.S. flag carrier. Many smaller airlines operated concurrently, and some grew into national airlines in the years surrounding the 1979 deregulation. By the end of 1991, there were seven remaining transcontinental legacy carriers:

, Continental,

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

, United, and

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...

. These seven stood for a decade until TWA was incorporated into American in 2001; the remaining six subsequently stood for nearly another decade until three of them were respectively incorporated into the other three during the early 2010s. *

Northeast Airlines Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Del ...

, merged with Delta in 1972. *

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself me ...

, expanded and rebranded as USAir in 1979. * North Central Airlines acquired Southern Airways to become Republic in 1979. * National Airlines, acquired by Pan Am in 1980. * Hughes Airwest, acquired by Republic in 1980. *

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

, defunct in 1982. *

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...

, merged with Continental in 1982. *

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

, acquired by PEOPLExpress in 1985, merged with Continental in 1986. *

Ozark Air Lines Ozark Air Lines was an airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986 when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines. A smaller regional airline that used the Ozark name (a ...

, acquired by TWA in 1986. * Republic Airlines, merged with Northwest in 1986. *

Air California Air California, later renamed AirCal, was an American airline company, founded by William E. Myers and Bill Perrera, a partnership of Orange County businessmen. It began as an intrastate airline operating solely within California. Air Californ ...

(AirCal), merged with American in 1987. * Jet America Airlines, merged with Alaska in 1987. * Western Airlines, merged with Delta in 1987. * Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), merged with USAir in 1988 * Piedmont Airlines, merged with USAir in 1989. *

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

, defunct in 1991. *

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

(Pan Am), defunct in 1991. * Reno Air, merged with American in 1999. *

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA), merged with American in 2001. *

America West Airlines America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Americ ...

, merged with US Airways in 2005. * Northwest Airlines, merged with Delta in 2008. *

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

, merged with United in 2010. *

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

, merged with American in 2013. *

Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropoli ...

, merged with Alaska Airlines in 2018.

References

{{Legacy carrier Business models Civil aviation in the United States Airline types

Background

Active legacy carriers

Defunct legacy carriers

See also

References