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Flag carrier

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"National airlines" redirects here. For airlines named National Airlines, see National Airlines.
For other uses, see Flag carrier (disambiguation).

A flag carrier or de facto flag carrier, refers to:

  1. A transportation company, such as a shipping or airline company, that is registered in a given state. Example: "American Airlines, while a private firm, is a U.S. flag carrier."
  2. 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 (state in this context used to mean any principality or country). Example: "Air Canada is its namesake's flag carrier."

[edit] Importance of flag carriers

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 agreements between countries (see Open skies), exemplified by the Bermuda Agreements—a set of air services agreements between the United States and the United Kingdom originally signed 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 American Act.

[edit] List of national flag carriers

* Virgin Atlantic Airways claimed it was the flag carrier of the UK, as British Airways stopped putting a Union Jack in its livery in the 80s/90s. Sir Richard Branson put the Union Jack on its Virgin Girl. British Airways put the flag back after the flag was put on all planes of Virgin Atlantic Airways.

[edit] External links

ja:フラッグ・キャリア zh:國家航空公司

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