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Flag carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A flag carrier or de facto flag carrier, refers to a transportation company, such as a shipping or airline company, that is registered in a given state or a state-run, state-owned or state-designated transport company or organization, specifically (though not universally required) showing the state flag apparent for public view. The fact that a certain airline should be so designated should be tied to the fact of whether that airline receives an unusual or non-standard subsidy compared to its national competitors. If it has no national competitors, then it is probably nationalized already. The following chart does not indicate the subsidy status of the various proposed flag carrier airlines.
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The term "flag carrier" is a legacy of the time when most countries had a state-owned airline. However, many of these airlines have been privatised and the airline industry deregulated, allowing multiple airlines to compete within each country's market. This has rendered the term less important than it was in the past.
The legacy of flag carriers can still be seen by the restrictions in international air travel through bilateral in 1945 (Bermuda I) but revised in 1977 (Bermuda II) to redress the balance of air service advantage by limiting the number of airlines which could operate on certain routes.
Some countries (notably the United States of America) have legislation that requires the use of a national flag carrier, where possible, when travelling using government funds. One example is the Fly America Act.
The chart below list the status of the three criteria to be considered a "flag carrier", designation as a national airlines either officially or based on history, whether it carries the national flag on its aircraft and whether it is state-owned.
- ^ a b c Gulf Air is jointly owned by the governments of Bahrain and Oman, and is the flag carrier for both nations.
- ^ a b c d e f SAS is partly owned by the governments of Demark, Norway and Sweden, and is the flag carrier for all three nations.
- ^ France: Air France was (and is still considered by many) the designated national carrier before it was merged with the Dutch airlines, KLM.
- ^ a b c d e f Whether airlines displays an official national flag in its livery, it is incorporated in the livery design.
- ^ a b Cathay Pacific used to fly the flag of the United Kingdom. Some of the crafts of Dragonair used to feature the flag of the United Kingdom, and some featured the colonial flag of Hong Kong.
- ^ LOT Corporate Information. PLL LOT (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ Jat Airways is currently in process of privatisation. Aeroflot is the most likely company to get a share in ownership.
- ^ http://grupo.iberia.es/portal/site/grupoiberia/menuitem.5dcd178a7f0a73be19736c10d21061ca/
- ^ China Airlines used to fly the flag of the Republic of China until 1995.
- ^ UAE: Etihad Airways is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, a constituent emirate of the UAE.
- ^ UAE: Emirates Airline is owned by the government of Dubai, a constituent emirate of the UAE.
- ^ UK: Even though Virgin Atlantic claimed they were the flag carrier of the United Kingdom after British Airways removed the Union Jack design from the tail livery in favor of world images, British Airways was actually created by an act of Parliament in 1972, merging BOAC and BEA under the newly formed British Airways board and eventually other separate airlines came together to form British Airways in 1974.
- ^ The U.S. government has never officially recognized a single flag carrier, but Pan American was widely considered the de facto flag carrier before its 1991 bankruptcy.[citation needed]
- Wright State University Sample Federal funds usage for air carriers.
- International Air Transport Association Organisation formerly responsible for managing air services agreements and international fares.