airline

American  

[air-lahyn] / ˈɛərˌlaɪn /

noun

airlines plural

1. Aeronautics.

   1. a system furnishing air transport, usually scheduled, between specified points.

   2. the airplanes, airports, etc., of such a system.

   3. Often airlines a company that owns or operates such a system.

2. a direct line; beeline.

3. an airhose used to pipe air to a deep-sea diver, pneumatic drill, etc.

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adjective

1. of or on an airline.

airline British  

/ ˈɛəˌlaɪn /

noun

1. 1. a system or organization that provides scheduled flights for passengers or cargo

   2. ( as modifier )

      an airline pilot

2. a hose or tube carrying air under pressure

3. a beeline

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• airlines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of airline

First recorded in 1910–15; air ¹ + line ¹

Explanation

An airline is a company that owns and operates a fleet of planes. You might pick an airline for your trip to Hawaii based on who sells the least expensive tickets. The airline is the business that maintains airplanes for commercial and business travel. Some people have a strong preference for one airline over another — you may enjoy flying with the airline that provides homemade cookies to its passengers, for example. Baggage handlers, flight attendants, and pilots all work for an airline. The original, 1813 meaning of airline was quite different: "a straight line between two points on the earth's surface."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

airline airlines

The airline said: "Please do not arrive earlier, as you will not be able to drop off your bags or enter the departure lounge until bag drop opens."

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The Atlanta-based carrier has spent years upending conventional airline wisdom that customers care mostly about finding the cheapest seat that works in their schedules.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Technology, chip and airline stocks are leading declines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

British airline EasyJet, the target of a multi-billion-pound takeover battle, said Thursday that profits plunged in the third quarter as the Middle East war sent jet fuel prices soaring.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The group, which was headed by Walter Sisulu and Duma Nokwe, traveled on the only airline that would accept such an affidavit: the Israeli airline, El Al.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Boeing, by contrast, believes that airlines are looking for an improved narrow-body 737 MAX rather than a new aircraft.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

IBM’s mainframes, servers and software are no less dominant in the core functions of insurance companies, banks, airlines and other members of the Fortune 500.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

For Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg, a new aircraft is not the priority for airlines, insisting that they are looking for better performance from existing fleets and, crucially, more reliable and durable engines.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

These vastly outweigh the amount of carbon produced by the airport site, and are accounted for separately by airlines.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

In the beginning, it was just Marshall Skadden, Leslie Arps—both of whom had just been turned down for partner at a major Wall Street law firm—and John Slate, who had worked for Pan Am airlines.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell