national airline

national airline, air transportation services owned and operated by national governments. All U.S. airlines are, and have been, privately owned. Many other countries have a history of government-owned airlines. Often national airlines were founded as private services and later purchased by governments. Some airlines have been founded by national governments or entities connected to those governments. The oldest airline in the English-speaking world, Qantas, was founded privately in Australia in 1920 and purchased by the...