| Airlines are companies that furnish air transport | | | | airplanes to experiment with air mail service. They |
| services for freight, passengers or chartered flights. | | | | used aircraft services acquired from the United |
| Airlines own or lease the aircraft that are used to | | | | States Army. After the Army flew many air mail |
| carry out one or more of the aforementioned | | | | missions, the Post Office decided it was time to start |
| services. An airline may also form an coalition or | | | | their own air mail network, as the Army proved to |
| partnership with another airline or airlines to benefit | | | | be undependable. |
| mutually. | | | | Eventually, the 1920s brought the advent of |
| The demand and pricing for air travel services | | | | passenger airlines. Many of these companies offering |
| depends on a number of factors, including leisure | | | | passenger service still dealt primarily with transporting |
| passenger needs, business passenger needs, demand | | | | mail. Then in the year 1925, Ford bought the Stout |
| for business cargo shipments and all of these are of | | | | Aircraft Company as well as started construction on |
| course influenced by overall economic activity of a | | | | an all-metal aircraft that became the first American |
| given area or region. | | | | passenger airliner. |
| Overall, the demand for air travel services has risen | | | | Pan American World Airways was the first American |
| quite consistently. While annual growth rates during | | | | airline to go international, and was the only U.S. airline |
| the 80s and 90s ranged between 5-6%, there was a | | | | to do so before the 1940s. |
| drastic 15% in earlier days of aviation during the | | | | Immediately after Word War II there was a surplus |
| 1950s and 1960s. | | | | of military aircraft, and some designs such as the |
| Growth rates are certainly not uniform across the | | | | Douglas C-3 that were used for cargo and troop |
| board and differ from region to region. In areas | | | | transport, were converted to civilian passenger |
| where deregulation provided greater pricing | | | | service. |
| independence and, in turn, competition, the results | | | | Even during the depression the American airline |
| were lower fares and sometimes very dramatic | | | | industry was profitable for most airlines and |
| spikes in overall growth. | | | | continued to be so until the start of World War II. At |
| After World War I the U.S. was inundated with | | | | this time the U.S. saw much better airline profits than |
| airmen. Many of these aviators opted to use their | | | | did war-torn Europe. Around this time the airline |
| war surplus planes to perform various barnstorming | | | | industry really took off with advances in technology |
| programs for passengers and spectators. | | | | as well as manufacturing procedures of aircraft. |
| In 1918 the United States Postal Service began using | | | | |