Flag carrier


A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Historically, the term was used to refer to airlines owned by the government of their home country and associated with the national identity of that country. Such an airline may also be known as a national airline or a national carrier, although this can have different legal meanings in some countries. Today, it is any international airline with a strong connection to its home country or that represents its home country internationally, regardless of whether it is government-owned.
Flag carriers may also be known as such due to laws requiring aircraft or ships to display the state flag of the country of their registry. For example, under the law of the United States, a U.S. flag air carrier is any airline that holds a certificate under Section 401 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, and any ship registered in the United States is known as a U.S. flag vessel.

Background

The term "flag carrier" is a legacy of the time when countries established state-owned airline companies. Governments then took the lead due to the high capital costs of establishing and running airlines. However, not all such airlines were government-owned; Pan Am, TWA, Cathay Pacific, Union de Transports Aériens, Canadian Pacific Air Lines and Olympic Airlines were all privately owned. Most of these were considered to be flag carriers as they were the "main national airline" and often a sign of their country's presence abroad.
The heavily regulated aviation industry also meant aviation rights are often negotiated between governments, denying airlines the right to an open market. These Bilateral Air Transport Agreements similar to the Bermuda I and Bermuda II agreements specify rights awardable only to locally registered airlines, forcing some governments to jump-start airlines to avoid being disadvantaged in the face of foreign competition. Some countries also establish flag carriers such as Israel's El Al or Lebanon's Middle East Airlines for nationalist reasons, or to aid the country's economy, particularly in the area of tourism.
In many cases, governments would directly assist in the growth of their flag carriers typically through subsidies and other fiscal incentives. The establishment of competitors in the form of other locally registered airlines may be prohibited, or heavily regulated to avoid direct competition. Even where privately run airlines may be allowed to be established, the flag carriers may still be accorded priority, especially in the apportionment of aviation rights to local or international markets.
In the last two decades, however, many of these airlines have since been corporatized as a public company or a state-owned enterprise, or completely privatized. The aviation industry has also been gradually deregulated and liberalized, permitting greater freedoms of the air particularly in the United States and in the European Union with the signing of the Open Skies agreement. One of the features of such agreements is the right of a country to designate multiple airlines to serve international routes with the result that there is no single "flag carrier".

List of flag-carrying airlines

The chart below lists airlines considered to be a "flag carrier", based on current or former state ownership, or other verifiable designation as a national airline.
Country or RegionAirlineDetails of current state ownershipDetails of former state ownership
Ariana Afghan AirlinesMajority
Air Albania
Air AlgérieState-owned
TAAG Angola AirlinesMajority
Aerolíneas ArgentinasState-owned
Qantas-State-owned until 1992.
Virgin Australia-
Austrian AirlinesNone – owned by LufthansaState-owned until 5 December 2008.
BahamasairState-owned
Gulf AirState-owned
Biman Bangladesh AirlinesPublic-limited companyState-owned until 23 July 2007.
BelaviaState-owned
Brussels AirlinesNone – owned by LufthansaWas state-owned in its original incarnation
Druk Air-
Boliviana de AviaciónState-owned
Air BotswanaState-owned
Royal Brunei AirlinesState-owned
Bulgaria AirMinority State-owned
Air Burkina
Cambodia Angkor AirMajority
Camair-Co
Air Canada-State-owned until 1989.
TACV
Cayman AirwaysState-owned
Chadian AirlinesMajority
LATAM Chile-State-owned until September 1989.
Air ChinaMajority, in which:
State-owned until 2004, now indirectly controlled through parent companies.
Avianca-
Croatia AirlinesMajority
Cubana de Aviación
Czech Airlines-
Congo AirwaysState-owned
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Air DjiboutiJoint venture
EgyptAirState-owned
CEIBA Intercontinental
Eritrean AirlinesState-owned
NordicaState-owned
Eswatini AirlinkJoint venture
Ethiopian AirlinesState-owned
Atlantic Airways
Fiji AirwaysMajority
FinnairMajority
Air FranceMinority
Air Tahiti NuiMajority
Georgian Airways-
Lufthansa-State-owned until 1994; remaining government shares were sold in 1997.
Aegean Airlines
Air Greenland
Aurigny Air ServicesState-owned
Caribbean Airlines-
Cathay PacificMinority
Minority
Icelandair
Air IndiaState-owned
Garuda IndonesiaMajority State-owned until February 2011.
Aer LingusNone – owned by IAGState-owned until September 2006.
Iran AirState-owned
Iraqi Airways
El AlMinority State-owned until June 2004.
AlitaliaMinority State-owned until 2008, and indirectly controlled through a state-owned company since 2013.
Air Côte d'IvoireMinority
Caribbean AirlinesMinority
Japan Airlines-State-owned until 1987.
Royal Jordanian
Air AstanaMajority
Kenya AirwaysMinority
Air Kiribati
Kuwait AirwaysState-owned
Lao AirlinesState-owned
Air BalticMajority
Middle East AirlinesMajority
Afriqiyah AirwaysState-owned
Libyan AirlinesState-owned
LuxairMajority
Air MacauMinority
Air MadagascarMajority
Malawian AirlinesMajority
Malaysia AirlinesState-owned through Khazanah Nasional
Maldivian
Air MaltaMajority
Mauritania Airlines
Air Mauritius
Aeroméxico-State-owned until 2007.
Air Moldova
MIAT Mongolian AirlinesState-owned
Montenegro Airlines
Royal Air MarocState-owned
State-owned
Myanmar National AirlinesState-owned
Air NamibiaState-owned
Nauru AirlinesState-owned
Nepal AirlinesState-owned
KLMMinority
Air New ZealandMajority State-owned until 1989, partially re-nationalized in 2001.
Air KoryoState-owned
Oman AirMajority
State-owned
Copa Airlines-
Air Niugini
Philippine Airlines
LOT Polish AirlinesState-owned
TAP Air PortugalMajority
Qatar AirwaysState-owned
Equatorial Congo AirlinesMajority
Air Austral
TAROMMajority
AeroflotMajority
RwandAirState-owned
SVG Air
Samoa AirwaysState-owned
STP Airways-
SaudiaMajority
Air Senegal
Air SerbiaMajority
Air Seychelles-
Solomon AirlinesState-owned
Singapore AirlinesMajority
South African AirwaysState-owned
Korean Air-State-owned until 1969.
IberiaMinority
SriLankan AirlinesState-owned
Sudan AirwaysState-owned
Surinam AirwaysState-owned
Swiss International Air LinesNone – owned by Lufthansa
Syrian AirState-owned
China Airlines-State-owned until 1991. 51.28% held by non-profit Civic Aviation Development Foundation.
Air TanzaniaState-owned
Thai Airways InternationalMajority
Caribbean AirlinesMajority
TunisairMajority
Turkish AirlinesMinority
Turkmenistan AirlinesState-owned
Uganda Airlines
Etihad AirwaysState-owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi
EmiratesState-owned by the Government of Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
British Airways-State-owned until 1987.
Uzbekistan AirwaysMajority
Conviasa
Vietnam AirlinesMajority
Air Vanuatu
YemeniaMajority
Air ZimbabweState-owned