Mainline (flight)
A mainline flight is a flight operated by an airline's main operating unit, rather than by regional alliances, regional code-shares or regional subsidiaries. In the USA, examples of mainline passenger airline flights include those operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines but it would not include flights operated by regional airlines American Eagle Airlines or Comair with Regional jets or the services of mainline "non-airline" regional airline marketing brands such as AmericanConnection, Delta Connection, or United Express aboard lower-capacity narrowbody jets and turboprop aircraft, such as those produced by Embraer or Bombardier, that do not have transcontinental range.
Often US mainline airline carriers operate in-house brands such as the Delta Shuttle, or the mainline United's Ted, and United p.s. to cater to business segments such as the short-range air shuttle, low-cost, or premium-service flights which normally would not support the traffic or revenue yield needed for the traditional operation of larger mainline aircraft with over 100 passenger seats between selected city pairs.
All of the - mainline legacy - airlines listed below operate international, intercontinental, or transoceanic airline services using jet airliners[citation needed]. Additionally, all the - mainline legacy - carriers listed happen to be within the group of United States airline carriers known to statistically be major carriers.
All of the following legacy airlines and their holding companies operate using secondary regional carriers via airline marketing sub-brands commonly marketed as "Express" or "Connection" services.
All of the following airlines in some form operate in association with a regional component. All legacy carriers are among the group of US airlines known as "mainline" carriers.
| Air Carrier | Non-Mainline but "owned" Regional Affiliate Carriers |
Non-Mainline Regional Brands | Non-Branded Regional Non-Mainline Codeshare Affiliates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Airlines* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Atlas Air | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| North American Airlines*** | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Omni Air International | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Ryan International Airlines* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Spirit Airlines* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Southwest Airlines* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Sun Country Airlines | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| USA Jet Airlines* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Virgin America | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| Vision Airlines | No regional affiliates | No regional brands | |
| World Airways* | No regional affiliates | No regional brands |
Notes:
(*) These airlines operate mainline equipment but do not wholly "own" regional airlines or have "non-owned" regional affiliates.
(**) Hawaiian Airlines does operate transoceanic international and intercontinental ETOPS services but does not have a regional component
(***) North American Airlines does operate transoceanic international and intercontinental ETOPS services as a supplemental / charter airline carrier, but does not have a regional component
[edit] Notes
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) |
[edit] References
- [1], AA and early references to mainline, regional and B-scale
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