airline

airline — noun

1. a company whose business is flying people or cargo from one place to another usi

1.nounB1
Definition

a company whose business is flying people or cargo from one place to another using its own planes, usually on a fixed timetable.

Example

Beatriz booked her flight to Tokyo with a budget airline to save money.

collocation: budget airline

The airline canceled all flights from Taipei after a strong typhoon hit the coast.

subject pattern: the airline + action verb

Common collocations
  • budget airline
  • low-cost airline
  • national airline
  • major airline
  • regional airline
Synonyms
  • carrier

    more formal industry term, often in news reports (e.g. 'low-cost carrier')

  • air carrier

    technical/regulatory wording used in aviation documents

  • flag carrier

    specifically the main national airline of a country

Grammar Patterns

a [name] airline

[name] Airlines (proper noun)

Usage Note

Often used with the company's name as a proper noun (China Airlines, Singapore Airlines), where the plural form 'Airlines' is part of the brand. As a common noun it is countable and takes 'a/an' or 'the'.

Common Mistakes

I flew with airline yesterday.
I flew with an airline yesterday.
'airline' is countable, so use 'a/an' or name a specific company.
The airline pilot drove the plane safely.
The airline pilot flew the plane safely.
pilots fly planes; 'drive' is for ground vehicles.

Word family

  • airliner
    nounB2
  • airlines
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In everyday English, 'airline' is the standard word a learner should reach for when talking about a company that flies people or goods, as in 'my favorite airline' or 'the airline lost my bag'. 'Carrier' is the same idea but sounds more formal and is typical in business news, regulations, and headlines: 'the carrier reported record profits'. 'Flag carrier' is narrower — it points to the airline most closely tied to a country's identity, often (but not always) state-owned, such as Air France for France or Qantas for Australia. 'Low-cost carrier' is industry shorthand for a budget airline like Ryanair or Scoot. Use 'airline' in conversation; use 'carrier' or its compounds in writing about the industry.

airline ↗carrier ↗flag carrierlow-cost carrier

Common collocations

Nouns

  • airline industry
  • airline ticket
  • airline passenger
  • airline pilot
  • airline crew
  • airline staff

Phrases

  • the airline industry
  • an airline employee
  • airline customer service

Prepositions

  • fly with [an airline]
  • work for [an airline]
  • book with [an airline]

Etymology

English

First used in English in the mid-1800s to mean a straight line drawn through the air between two points (the shortest route). Once passenger flight became common in the early 20th century, the word was reused for the regular flight routes a company operated, and from there for the company itself.