The US has the world’s largest air traffic market and is where the term ‘Legacy carrier’ was coined to apply to the Big Six airlines which existed prior to the passing of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 which was meant to remove forces of government control from commercial aviation and to open up the passenger airline industry to market forces.

‘Legacy carriers’ operate around a hub and spoke network and are full service airlines which have certain common features

·        All these airlines have First / Business Class Cabins in addition to an  Economy   Cabin

·        They have Lounges for First and Business Class passengers

·        They are part of airline alliances

·        They have frills and perks depending on the class of travel you choose

·        They have frequent flyer programs for their passengers.

The Big Six US  airlines which are classified as ‘Legacy Carriers’ in the US are American Airlines which is based in Dallas, United which is based in Chicago, Delta based out of Atlanta and Northwest which is based in Minneapolis. Rounding up the Big Six of American Aviation are Continental which has its main hub in Houston and US Airways which is based out of Phoenix  Two other  American legacies not included in the big six and  are  Alaska Airlines which is based out of Seattle and  Hawaiian Airlines.

American Airlines (AA) is the world’s largest airline in terms of passenger loads. It ranks second in the world in terms of revenues after the airline formed after the KLM-Air France merger.  American Airlines has five main hubs, with its largest hub located at Dallas Fort Worth where it operates 84% of the flights, with Chicago, Miami, St Louis and San Juan rounding out it's five main hubs. AA is a founding member of the One World Alliance program. AA's frequent flyer program is AAdvantage and it's Admiral’s Club lounges are open to members and first class passengers.

United Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 1^st 2006. It had operated under bankruptcy protection since December 9^th 2002, due to the devastating fall out from the events that occurred on September 11 2001.

This bankruptcy case is the longest and largest bankruptcy case in airline history. United’s largest hub is Chicago O’Hare. It is a member of  Star Alliance along with twenty other mainline airlines from around the world. Star Alliance is the largest airline alliance in the world.  United operates a frequent flier program called Mileage Plus.

Delta Airlines which has its main hub in Atlanta has a large domestic and international network. It provides air links to over 332 destinations in over 57 countries and is the only US carrier that flies to Africa. It's frequent flyer program is Sky Miles. Delta is a member of the of the second largest global airline alliance called Sky Team which has fourteen other airlines as members.

Northwest Airlines has its headquarters in Eagan in Minnesota near the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport which is one of its three major hubs; the others are Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Memphis International Airport. Its frequent flyer program is World Perks and is a member of the Sky Team alliance. Northwest Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2007.

Continental Airlines is based out of Houston in Texas and operates in destinations located throughout the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia –Pacific and Europe. Continental serves more UK airports than any other US airline.  Continental is part of the Sky Team alliance and has a frequent flyer program called OnePass. The airline is the best example of the Hub and Spoke model of the airline industry as it has a highly concentrated network.  Continental wholly owns it subsidiary Continental Micronesia which serves destinations in Micronesia through it's hub on Guam.

US Airways is the sixth largest airline in the US and is a member of the Star Alliance network and has a frequent flier program called Dividend Miles. It has a focus network concentrated on north east American cities of Washington, New York, Pittsburgh and Boston. The Airline operates the US Airways shuttle which provides an hourly service between important Northeast cities.

Latin America

The most important Legacy carrier in Latin America is LAN which is based out of Santiago in Chile. The Airline serves much of Latin America and various other international destinations. LAN has several subsidiaries in many Latin American countries that it partially owns. The airline has a loyalty program called LANPASS and is a member of the One World alliance program. TAM is another important legacy carrier which operates in the large Brazilian market where it faces competition from the low cost carrier GOL , which happens to be one of the world’s most profitable low cost carriers.

Avianca is Colombia’s flag carrier and is the world’s second oldest airline after KLM, It has  been operational since 1919. Avianca operates five subsidiary airlines and  has a loyalty program called AviancaPlus.

AeroMexico is a legacy carrier which is the largest carrier in Mexico. AeroMexico provides air links to Asia, Europe, Central and South America and USA. It is a member of Sky Team alliance.

Europe

In Europe the legacy airlines are British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France. The struggling flag ship carriers of  countries such as the Netherlands and Switzerland  have been absorbed by Air France and Lufthansa  in recent years.

British Airways is the largest airline in the United Kingdom. It has two hubs located in Gatwick and Heathrow airports in London. British Airways frequent flyer program is called Executive Club and it is a part of the One World Alliance program.

The second largest airline in Europe and the sixth largest airline in the world is the German Lufthansa which has two main hubs; Frankfurt and Munich Airports. Lufthansa has the second- largest passenger airline fleet in the world, when it's various subsidiaries are included. Lufthansa has a frequent flyer program called Miles and More and is a Star Alliance member.

Air France is a subsidiary of the largest airline in the world, the Air France KLM group airline. The Air France-KLM group was formed in 2004 by the amalgamation of KLM with Air France.  Air France  has its main hub at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport and has secondary hubs at Paris’s Orly  Airport, Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport and Nice Cote d’Azur airport. Air France is a member of Sky Team with a frequent flyer program called ‘Flying Blue’.

Middle East

In the Middle East the premier legacy carrier is Emirates whose business model has been adopted by Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. ‘Emirates’ main base is the Dubai International Airport and it flies to 88 destinations in 55 countries. It has a frequent flyer program called Skywards and is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization which has twenty four members.

Asia

In India the airline industry has become incredibly competitive during the past few years.

In recent years the Indian government took a decision to de regulate the aviation industry and this led to explosive growth in this sector with many new players entering the field. Last year, the Indian Legacy carrier Air India merged with its subsidiary Indian Airlines due to fierce competition it faces from the low cost and discount airlines that operate in the Indian aviation sector.

The Chinese aviation industry is also growing rapidly and this industry is currently led by its legacy carrier Air China which is a member of Star Alliance and operates a frequent flyer program called Air China Companion Club. Air China has a daily non stop service between Beijing and US cities Los Angeles and San Francisco and is looking to increase the frequency of its flights to the US. It also operates a non stop service between New York City's JFK airport and Beijing's Capital International Airport. Air China is the designated airline of the 2008 summer Olympics which are to be held in China later this year.

The ASEAN region is dominated by Singapore Airlines which has often been voted by airline industry and passenger surveys as the worlds ‘Best’ airline. Singapore Airlines has a subsidiary called Silk Air which flies on regional routes .SIA is a part of Star Alliance and operates a loyalty program called Krisflyer.  Singapore Airlines was the first airline to add the new generation A-380 aircraft to its fleet in November 2007.

Neighboring Malaysia's Malaysian Airlines operates a regional and charter service as well. Malaysian Airlines is only one of the six airlines in the world to have been awarded the five stars rating by the independent rating agency Skytrax.  

Thailand ‘s legacy airline Thai airways is a founding member of Star Alliance  and is renowned for its excellent  cabin service for which it won the 'World's Best Cabin Staff' award from Skytrax. It operates non stop services to New York and Los Angeles from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. Its frequent flier program is called Royal Orchid Plus.

Japan Airlines owns eight subsidiaries and has its main bases at Tokyo International Airport and at Narita International Airport. Japan Airlines is a member of the One World Alliance. JAL operates the largest number of Boeing 747s operated by an airline and  along with Malaysian Airlines and Air China, is one of the three Asian airlines that flies to South America. JAL offers daily non stop services from New York, Los Angles and San Francisco to Tokyo's Narita airport.

Korean Air has its main hub at Incheon International Airport in Seoul in Korea. Korean Air operates a frequent flyer program called SKY Pass and is a member of the Sky Team alliance program.

Cathay Pacific is Hong Kong’s mainline carrier which has its hub at Hong Kong International airport. Cathay Pacific along with Singapore’s Singapore Airlines and India’s Kingfisher Airlines has been awarded a five stars rating by Skytrax. Cathay Pacific is a member of One World and owns a subsidiary airline called Dragon Air.

Australia

Australia‘s legacy carrier Qantas is one of the oldest continuously operational airlines in the world having been in operation since 1919. It is a member of the One World Alliance

and operates out of its main hubs at International Airports located at  Sydney and Melbourne.

Though these Legacy carriers face increasing competition from the discount carriers, one area in which these full service legacy carriers score is interlining or the ability to transfer passengers from one flight to another without much disruption. Long distance travel requires passengers to be brought from various regional destinations into a hub for transfer onto a long haul carrier. It is in this area of operation the hub and spoke business of model of the legacy carriers succeeds in a way that discount carriers who generally operate on short haul flights still can’t match. Interlining requires complex and meticulous planning to transfer passengers and luggage seamlessly from a regional destination into a hub and then on to a long haul flight. This system has been perfected over years by the Legacy carriers with the help of International Air Transport Association (IATA).  It is for this reason that the Legacy carriers will continue to withstand the challenge posed by the discount carriers for years to come.