Legacy carrier

* Any US airline with a pre-1979 origin which was not regulated by the CAB. There are two significant US airlines today that operated pre-1979 but were not regulated by the CAB. The most prominent is [[Southwest Airlines]], which started operations in 1971 but was never subject to CAB regulation because it was an [[intrastate airline]] and thus was subject to less regulation. For that reason, Southwest has never been counted as a legacy carrier. As related below, the term "intrastate airline" meant more than simply operating within a single state. Prior to 1981, Hawaiian Airlines operated only within the state of Hawaii,<ref>{{cite web |title=Hawaiian Air Route System - 16 June 1981 |url=https://www.departedflights.com/HA061681.html |website=Departed Flights |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> yet was CAB-regulated.

* Any US airline with a pre-1979 origin which was not regulated by the CAB. There are two significant US airlines today that operated pre-1979 but were not regulated by the CAB. The most prominent is [[Southwest Airlines]], which started operations in 1971 but was never subject to CAB regulation because it was an [[intrastate airline]] and thus was subject to less regulation. For that reason, Southwest has never been counted as a legacy carrier. As related below, the term "intrastate airline" meant more than simply operating within a single state. Prior to 1981, Hawaiian Airlines operated only within the state of Hawaii,<ref>{{cite web |title=Hawaiian Air Route System - 16 June 1981 |url=https://www.departedflights.com/HA061681.html |website=Departed Flights |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> yet was CAB-regulated.

While the term "legacy carrier" is most often used in a US context, it is possible to speak of legacy carriers elsewhere, since tight airline regulation was once the global norm and following US airline deregulation, many other countries went through some kind of airline deregulation. Non-US carriers with origins that precede liberalization can be viewed as legacy carriers. For instance, in Europe, [[flag carrier]]s such as [[British Airways]], [[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]], [[Lufthansa]], and [[Air France]] (with origins well before the liberalized era) can be viewed as legacy carriers in contrast to airlines such as [[Ryanair]], [[Wizz Air]], and so forth.

While the term "legacy carrier" is most often used in a US context, it is possible to speak of legacy carriers elsewhere, since tight airline regulation was once the global norm and following US airline deregulation, many other countries went through some kind of airline deregulation. Non-US carriers with origins that precede liberalization can be viewed as legacy carriers. For instance, in Europe, [[flag carrier]]s such as [[British Airways]], [[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]], [[Lufthansa]], and [[Air France]] (with origins well before the liberalized era) can be viewed as legacy carriers in contrast to airlines such as [[Ryanair]], [[EasyJet]], [[Wizz Air]], and so forth.

==Significance==

==Significance==