From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Airline that has heavily outsourced functions
In
economics
, a
virtual airline
is an
airline
that has
outsourced
as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintains effective control of its core business.
[1]
Such an airline focuses on operating a network of air services, and outsourcing non-core activities to other organizations.
[2]
Contracting out services within the aviation industry has reportedly become so common that many carriers could be classed as having features of a virtual airline, although it is arguable whether any current carriers meet a strict definition of the term.
[3]
[4]
The term is often used to describe travel companies and ticket agencies that market themselves as airlines, but do not possess an
air operator's certificate
and contract with one or more certificated operators to fly and maintain aircraft, often under an
air charter
or
wet lease
arrangement. Although operated by others from a regulatory standpoint, the aircraft may display the virtual airline's
livery
, and may be owned or leased by that company.
Origins
[
edit
]
Virtual airlines originated in the
United States
following the drastic changes brought about by the
Airline Deregulation Act of 1978
. During the hyper-competitive years immediately following deregulation,
major airlines
found it increasingly unprofitable to compete against start-up carriers on many routes they currently served. Instead of forfeiting the routes entirely, the larger carriers often made marketing arrangements with smaller airlines to fly under the "banner", or livery, of the larger airline. These
regional airlines
, mimicking the well known major airlines in adverts and purporting to make connections as seamless as possible, soon abandoned their own local service routes. In most cases, the regional airlines found it more profitable to serve the mainline hubs as a feeder operation rather than operate on their own.
[
citation needed
]
List of virtual airlines
[
edit
]
Africa
[
edit
]
Europe
[
edit
]
North America
[
edit
]
With mainline-type equipment
[
edit
]
With regional-type equipment
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Virtual airlines (economics)
at Wikimedia Commons