Airline Definition, Examples, and Usage

Meaning 1：commercial air transport company (airline)

airline 🔊

/ˈɛə.laɪn/

A business that uses planes to take people or things from one place to another regularly.

Airline departure board showing flights and logos in airport

commercial air transport company 🔊

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/kəˈmɜːrʃl ɛər trænzˈpɔːrt ˈkʌmpəni/

A business that operates aircraft to transport passengers or cargo on a regular schedule between specific destinations.

📁 Category：Transportation & Travel 🔖 Level：basic

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

air + line; 'line' refers to a regular route or service.

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a line in the sky connecting cities – that's an airline, a bus route for planes.

📖 Example

When booking my holiday, I compared prices and schedules from several airlines before making a decision. 🔊 When booking my holiday, I compared prices and schedules from several airlines before making a decision.

🔗 Collocations

budget airline – a low-cost airline offering cheaper fares with fewer services

flag carrier airline – an airline owned or designated by a country as its national airline

airline industry – the sector of the economy that includes all air transport companies

🔄 Synonyms

carrier (n.) – a company that transports people or goods, especially by air

air carrier (n.) – a company that provides air transportation for passengers or freight

airliner (n.) – a large aircraft used for transporting passengers, often associated with an airline

🌱 Derivatives

airliner (n.) – a large passenger aircraft operated by an airline

airline industry (n.) – the business sector made up of all airlines

airline ticket (n.) – a document issued by an airline for a passenger to travel on a flight

📖 Cultural Story

First used in the 1910s, 'airline' combines 'air' and 'line' (as in shipping line). The earliest airline was DELAG in Germany (1909).