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

A bidding war has broken out for EasyJet, the British low-cost airline, with the second American private-equity bid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Gerstner founded Altimeter in Boston during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis, after working at PAR Capital Management, a hedge-fund firm that traded airline and travel stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

TheCessna 402 aircraft was operated by Flamingo Air, ⁠a Bahamas-based airline.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Under Castlelake's proposal, 51 percent of the carrier would be owned by European Union nationals including two airline industry veterans, Peter Bellew and Mark Breen.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Grampy bought me the airline ticket for my Hanukkah gift.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Japanese airlines cancelled dozens of flights, affecting more than 26,000 passengers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

According to the Financial Times, Castlelake is a major player in aircraft leasing, with a fleet of 375 planes rented out to airlines including Etihad, Qantas, Air India Express, Frontier and Viva.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Various airlines have grounded flights in the region.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

That combo has been pure poison for airlines in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

In the aftermath of the Kennedy crash, the management of Avianca airlines held a postmortem.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell