This survey provides details of who owns 226 airlines. Fifty six are listed on stock exchanges, some through parent companies. Governments have majority holdings in 66 of the 226 carriers and minority holdings in 19 more. Most airlines with five or more jet aircraft have been included, but regional carriers have been excluded.
| Airline | Govt stake % | Principal shareholders |
| Adria Airways | 100.0 | Bank Rehabilitation Agency 100% |
| Aer Lingus | 100.0 | |
| Aero Lloyd | 0.0 | J Klimitz 50.5%, Air Charter Market 49.5% |
| Aeroflot RIA | 51.0 | Employees 49% |
| Aerolineas Argentinas | 5.0 | Interinvest/Andes Holdings 73% (Comprising Merrill Lynch 45%, Sepi 30%, Bankers Trust 15%, American Airlines 10%); Iberia 10%; employees 10% |
| Aeromexico | 0.0 | Cintra 90%, pilots 10% |
| AeroPeru | 20.0 | Cintra 35%, Delta Air Lines 35% , employees 7% |
| Aeropostal | 0.0 | Alas de Venezuela 51%, US & UK financial partners 49% |
| Aeropostale | 95.0 | Groupe Air France 50%, Groupe La Poste 50% |
| AeroRepublica | 0.0 | Promotora de Inversiones Superior 100% |
| Air 2000 | 0.0 | First Choice Holidays 100% |
| Air Afrique | 70.4 | Government stake shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Air France 10%, French Development Bank 9.1%, West African Development Bank 4.6%, DHL 3.2% |
| Air Algerie | 100.0 | |
| Air Berlin | 0.0 | R W Lundgren 26%, H-J Knips 25%, S & R Schulte 25%, J Hunold 20% |
| Air Canada | 0.0 | Listed |
| Air China | 100.0 | |
| Air Europa | 0.0 | J J Hidalgo Acera 79%, A Gutierrez Saiz 7.2%, Herpil 5%, Viajes Sidetours 5% |
| Air Europe SpA | 0.0 | Finflight 81%, Aviofin, Fiat, Tirrena |
| Air Foyle | 0.0 | W R C Foyle 100% |
| Air France | 90.1 | Groupe Air France 90.1% |
| Air Jamaica | 25.0 | Air Jamaica acquisition group 70%, employees 5% |
| Air Lanka | 74.0 | Emirates 25.99% |
| Air Liberté | 0.0 | British Airways 74%, Groupe Rivaud 26% |
| Air Madagascar | 89.6 | Air France 3.5% |
| Air Malta | 96.4 | |
| Air Mauritius | 51.0 | Air Mauritius Holding 51%, Rogers & Co 12.4%, British Airways 3.8%, Air France 2.8%, Air India 2.6% |
| Air New Zealand | 0.0 | Brierley Investments 42.4%, Franklin Resources 10.6%, Listed |
| Air Nippon | 0.0 | All Nippon Airways 73.5%, Hokkaido PC 14%, Japan Air System 2.7%, Japan Airlines 1.3% |
| Air Niugini | 100.0 | |
| Air One | 0.0 | Taquan Air 100% |
| Air Pacific | 73.0 | Qantas 17.5%, Air New Zealand 2.0% |
| Air Philippines | 0.0 | W Gatchalian 70%, Japan Air System 10% |
| Air Transat | 0.0 | Transat AT 100% |
| Air Transport International | 0.0 | BAX Global 100% |
| Air Zimbabwe | 100.0 | |
| Air-India | 100.0 | |
| Airborne Express | 0.0 | Airborne Freight Corp 100% (listed) |
| Airtours International | 0.0 | Blue Sea Investments 100% (parent is Airtours plc, listed) |
| AirTran | 0.0 | Listed |
| Alaska Airlines | 0.0 | Alaska Air Group 100% (listed) |
| Alitalia | 67.0 | IRI 67%. Listed. Employees to be offered 20%, after which IRI holding will fall to 53%. |
| All Nippon Airways | 0.0 | Listed |
| Alliance Air | 100.0 | Indian Airlines 100% |
| Aloha Airlines | 0.0 | Aloha Airgroup 100% (listed) |
| America West Airlines | 0.0 | America West Holdings Corp 100% (Listed) |
| American Airlines | 0.0 | AMR Corp 100% (Listed) |
| American International AL | 0.0 | Kitty Hawk 100% (T Christopher 35.5%, C Kalitta 24.5%) |
| American Trans Air | 0.0 | Listed |
| Ansett Australia | 0.0 | Air New Zealand 50%, The News Corporation 50% |
| Ansett New Zealand | 0.0 | The News Corporation 100% |
| AOM French Airlines | 0.0 | Consortium de Realisation (Credit Lyonnais subsidiary) 93%, Rothschild and Ifint 7%. |
| Asiana Airlines | 0.0 | Kumho Group 54.2%, Pacific Investment Capital 19.2%, Swiss Bank Corporation 19%, Korean Development Bank 12.6%, Korea Long Term Credit Bank 6.4%. |
| Atlas Air | 0.0 | Listed |
| Austral Lineas Aereas | 0.0 | Aerolineas Argentinas 10% |
| Austrian Airlines | 51.9 | Swissair 10%, All Nippon Airways 9%, Air France 1.5%, Listed |
| Aviaco | 100.0 | Iberia 100% |
| Avianca | 0.0 | Santo Domingo Group 90% |
| Aviateca | 25.0 | Taca 30% |
| Balkan Bulgarian Airlines | 100.0 | Due to be privatised in 1998 (80% private investors, 20% employees). |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Braathens | 0.0 | Braathens holding companies Braganza 33.4% and Bramora 5.4%; KLM 30% |
| Britannia Airways | 0.0 | Thomson Travel Holdings 100% (parent Thomson Organisation now listed) |
| British Airways | 0.0 | Listed |
| British Midland | 0.0 | BBW Partnership 60%, SAS 40% |
| BWIA International Airways | 33.5 | Employees 25.5% |
| Caledonian Airways | 0.0 | Inspirations plc 100% |
| Cameroon Airlines | 96.4 | Air France 3.6% |
| Canada 3000 Airlines | 0.0 | Deluce Investments 25%, employees 20% |
| Canadian Airlines International | 0.0 | Canadian Airlines Corp 100% (Listed; AMR Corp holds 25%) |
| Cargolux | 0.0 | Luxair 34.9%, SAir Logistics 33.7%, Luxembourg financial corporations 31.1% |
| Cathay Pacific | 0.0 | Swire Group 43.9%, Citic 25%. Listed. |
| Cebu Pacific Air | 0.0 | JG Summit Holdings 49% |
| China Airlines | 0.0 | China Aviation Development Foundation 71.1% |
| China Eastern Airlines | 61.1 | CAAC 61.1%. Listed 38.9% |
| China Southern Airlines | 68.1 | CAAC 68.1%. Listed 31.9% |
| China United Airlines | 100.0 | Chinese Air Force 100% |
| China Yunnan Airlines | 100.0 | CAAC 100% |
| City Bird | 0.0 | City Hotels 45.1%, Flight Invest 20.4%, Sabena 11.5%. Listed 23% |
| Comair - Commercial Airways | 0.0 | D Novick, M D Moritz, NSA Investments, P Van Hoven, R C Sack |
| Condor Flugdienst | 0.0 | Lufthansa 55%, C & N Touristik 45% |
| Continental Airlines | 0.0 | Northwest Airlines 15.4% |
| Continental Micronesia | 0.0 | Continental Airlines 100% |
| Copa | 0.0 | |
| Corsair | 0.0 | Nouvelles Frontieres 52.2%, Sucrerieres de Bourbon 24.3%, Fin Int'l de Gestion et de Conseil 21.6% |
| Croatia Airlines | 100.0 | INA 27.1%, Zagreb Airport 14.2%, Croatian Privatization |
| CSA Czech Airlines | 83.7 | Czech National Property Fund 56.4%, Czech Consolidation Bank 16.3%, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 16.3% |
| Cyprus Airways | 80.5 | |
| Delta Air Lines | 0.0 | Swissair 4.6%, Singapore Airlines 3%, Listed |
| Delta Express | 0.0 | Delta Air Lines 100% |
| Deutsche BA | 0.0 | British Airways 100% |
| DHL International | 0.0 | Lufthansa 25%, Japan Airlines 25%, Nissho Iwai 10%. Deutsche Post plans to buy 22.5% |
| Dragonair | 0.0 | CNAC 43.3%, Citic 28.5%, Cathay Pacific 17.8%, Swire Group 7.7% |
| EasyJet | 0.0 | Stelios Haji-Ioannou and family 100% |
| Egyptair | 100.0 | |
| El Al Israel Airlines | 100.0 | To be privatised by 1999 |
| Emery Worldwide | 0.0 | Consolidated Freightways 100% |
| Emirates Airline | 100.0 | |
| Ethiopian Airlines | 100.0 | |
| European Air Transport | 0.0 | DHL Worldwide Express |
| EVA Air | 0.0 | Evergreen International Corp, Evergreen Marine Corp, employees |
| Evergreen International Airlines | 0.0 | |
| Far Eastern Air Transport | 0.0 | China Development Corp 14%, China Airlines 10%, Taiwan Aerospace Corporation 4.95% |
| Federal Express | 0.0 | Listed |
| Finnair | 59.8 | Listed |
| Flying Colours Airlines | 0.0 | Flying Colours Leisure Group 100% |
| Frontier Airlines | 0.0 | Wexford Management 10%. Listed |
| Futura International Airways | 0.0 | Aer Lingus 85%, Belton Air 15% |
| Garuda Indonesia | 100.0 | |
| GB Airways | 0.0 | Bland Group 100% |
| Go | 0.0 | British Airways 100% |
| Gulf Air | 100.0 | Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar 25% each |
| Hainan Airlines | 5.3 | American Aviation Investment (controlled by George Soros) 25% |
| Hapag-Lloyd | 0.0 | Preussag 99.2% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 0.0 | Listed |
| Iberia Airlines | 92.0 | Sepi 92%, employees 8% |
| Icelandair | 0.0 | |
| Indian Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Iran Air | 100.0 | |
| Japan Air Charter | 0.0 | Japan Airlines 82%, Japanese tour companies 18% |
| Japan Air System | 0.0 | Tokyo Corp 26%, Toa Koson 10.4%, Japan Airlines 8.3%, Kinki Nippon Railway 8.7%. Listed |
| Japan Airlines | 0.0 | Listed |
| Japan Asia Airways | 0.0 | Japan Airlines 90.5% |
| Japan TransOcean Air | 0.0 | Japan Airlines 51% |
| JAT Yugoslav Airlines | 100.0 | Serbian government 51%, State oil, post, insurance companies 49% |
| Jet Airways (India) | 0.0 | N Goyal 100% |
| Kenya Airways | 23.0 | KLM 26%, employees 3%. Listed |
| Kiwi International Airlines | 0.0 | NJS Acquisitions 20%. Listed |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | 25.0 | Listed 75% |
| Korean Air | 0.0 | Hanjin Group 100% |
| Kuwait Airways | 100.0 | |
| Lacsa | 0.0 | Taca 10%, ASA Lacsa (employees) 3% |
| Ladeco | 0.0 | LanChile 99.4% |
| LanChile | 0.0 | Grupo Cueto 38.5%, Grupo Pifiera 33.1%, Grupo Hirmas 19%, Grupo Eblen 8.1% |
| Lauda Air | 0.0 | Austrian Airlines 35.9%, N Lauda 35%, Lufthansa 20% |
| Lithuanian Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Lloyd Aereo Boliviano | 48.3 | Vasp 49% |
| LOT Polish Airlines | 100.0 | Plans to privatise |
| LTU International Airways | 0.0 | Westdeutsche Landesbank 34.3%, B Huttner 20.2%, U Paulus 20.2%, V Conle-Kalinowski 20.2%, E W Graebner 5.1% |
| Lufthansa Group | 0.0 | Listed. Employees 4-5% |
| Luxair | 23.1 | Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de L'Etat 13.4%, Banque Generale de Luxembourg 13.1%, Banque Internationale de Luxembourg 13.1%, Lufthansa 13%, Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Telediffusion 12.1%, Luxair Finance, Luxair Group |
| Maersk Air | 0.0 | A P Moller Group 100% |
| Malaysia Airlines | 25.0 | Bank Negara Malaysia (MHS/Tajudin Ramli) 32%, Brunei Investment Agency 10% |
| Malév Hungarian Airlines | 63.9 | OTP Bank and Magyar Kuluereskedelmi Bank 35% |
| Mandarin Airlines | 0.0 | China Airlines 100% |
| Martinair Holland | 0.0 | KLM 100% |
| Meridiana | 0.0 | Fimpar 65.7%, HH The Aga Khan 21.3%, Airfin 8.9% |
| Merpati Nusantara Airlines | 0.0 | Garuda Indonesia 100% |
| MetroJet | 0.0 | US Airways 100% |
| Mexicana | 0.0 | Cintra 88.7% |
| Middle East Airlines Airliban | 0.0 | Banque du Liban 98.6%, Air France 0.9% |
| Midway Airlines | 0.0 | Listed |
| Midwest Express | 0.0 | Midwest Express Holdings 100% (Listed) |
| Monarch Airlines | 0.0 | Cosmos Guide Holding International NV 100% |
| National Airlines (Chile) | 0.0 | Avant Airlines 100% |
| Nigeria Airways | 100.0 | |
| Nippon Cargo Airlines | 0.0 | Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha 13.2%, Mitsui OSK Lines 13.2%, All Nippon Airways 13% |
| Northwest Airlines | 0.0 | Employees 27%, Alfred Checchi 11%, Gary Wilson 11%. Listed |
| Olympic Airways | 100.0 | |
| Pakistan International Airlines | 56.0 | Listed |
| Pegasus Airlines | 0.0 | Yapi Kredit Bank 49%, Silkar & Net Hdgs 30%, Alper Elichin 21% |
| Philippine Airlines | 14.0 | Lucio Tan 60% |
| Pluna | 49.0 | Varig 49%, S & V Mesa 2% |
| Polar Air Cargo | 0.0 | Gecas, NedMark, Southern Air Transport |
| Premiair | 0.0 | Scandinavian Leisure Group/Airtours 100% |
| Qantas Airways | 0.0 | British Airways 25%. Listed |
| Qatar Airways | 0.0 | |
| Reno Air | 0.0 | J Lorenzo 22%. Listed |
| Royal Air Maroc | 92.7 | Air France 4%, Iberia 2% |
| Royal Aviation | 0.0 | Conifair Aviation 100% |
| Royal Brunei Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Royal Jordanian Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Royal Nepal Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Ryan International Airlines | 0.0 | R D Ryan 100% |
| Ryanair | 0.0 | Ryan family 33%, D Bonderman 16%, M O'Leary 14%. Listed |
| Sabena | 33.8 | Swissair 49.5% |
| Saeta | 0.0 | Sarso 65% |
| SAS Group | 50.0 | SAS Sverige 42.9%, SAS Danmark 28.55%, SAS Norge 28.55% (all listed and 50% government owned). Translates to Swedish state 21.4%, Danish state 14.3%, Norwegian state 14.3%, Investor AB 8% |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Sempati Air | 0.0 | Asean Aviation 40%, TUB 25%, M Hasan 20%, Humpuss 15% |
| Servivensa | 0.0 | Avensa 100% |
| Shanghai Airlines | 0.0 | |
| Shenzhen Airlines | 0.0 | Bank of China, China Travel Service, CNAC, Southern Tongfu Industrial Company |
| Shuttle by United | 0.0 | United Airlines 100% |
| Sichuan Airlines | 100.0 | |
| SilkAir | 0.0 | Singapore Airlines 100% |
| Singapore Airlines | 54.0 | Temasek Holdings 54%, Delta Air Lines 2.7%, Swissair 0.62%. Listed |
| Sobelair | 0.0 | Sabena 72.3% |
| South African Airways | 100.0 | Transnet 100% |
| Southern Air Transport | 0.0 | J Bastian 100% |
| Southwest Airlines | 0.0 | Listed |
| Spanair | 0.0 | Viajes Marsans 51%, SAS 49% |
| Sudan Airways | 100.0 | |
| Swissair | 21.5 | Delta Air Lines 4.5%, Singapore Airlines 2.7%. Listed |
| Syrian Arab Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Taag Angola | 100.0 | |
| Taca International Airlines | 0.0 | Kriete family and Federico Bloch 95% |
| Taesa Airlines | 0.0 | Capt A Abed 80%, International Air Finance 20% |
| TAP Air Portugal | 100.0 | |
| Tarom | 100.0 | To be privatised |
| TEA Basel | 0.0 | Air Finance AG 60%, EasyJet 40% |
| Thai Airways International | 93.0 | Listed |
| TNT International Aviation Services | 0.0 | KPN 100% |
| Tower Air | 0.0 | M Nachtomi (Tower Travel) 75%. Listed 25% |
| Transaero | 0.0 | Aeroflot 5%, Aeronavigation, SSR Institute, Aerotrans Joint Stock Company, Ilyushin Design Bureau, Yakovlev Design Bureau |
| TransAsia Airways | 0.0 | Goldsun Group 96.5%, Japan Asia 3.5% |
| Transavia Airlines | 0.0 | KLM 80%, Nationale Investeringsbank 20% |
| Transbrasil | 0.0 | Fontana Family 72%, employees 20% |
| Trans World Airlines | 0.0 | Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal 5%. Listed |
| Tunisair | 45.2 | Air France 5.6% |
| Turkish Airlines | 98.2 | Listed 1.8% |
| U-Land Airlines | 0.0 | U Land Enterprises Group 100% |
| United Airlines | 0.0 | UAL Corp 100% (Listed, majority owned by employees) |
| United Parcel Service | 0.0 | Employees |
| US Airways | 0.0 | US Airways Group 100% (Listed) |
| Vanguard Airlines | 0.0 | Listed |
| Varig | 1.2 | Ruben Berta Foundation 51.4%, Listed 43.9% |
| Vasp | 40.0 | VOE (employees) and Canhedo Group 60%, State Government of Sao Paulo 40% |
| Vietnam Airlines | 100.0 | |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | 0.0 | Voyager Travel Holdings (R Branson) 100% |
| Virgin Express | 0.0 | Virgin Group (R Branson) 51%. Listed |
| Viva Air | 100.0 | Iberia 99.5%, INI 0.5% |
| Volga-Dnepr Airlines | 0.0 | Antonov Design Bureau, JSC Aviastar, Motor Sich |
| World Airways | 0.0 | WorldCorp 46.3%, MHS 24.9%. Listed 28.8% |
| Yemenia | 51.0 | Saudi government 49% |
Notes: This list includes most airlines which operate at least five jet aircraft, but regional carriers are excluded (see survey in May 1998 issue) Government shareholdings listed include direct holdings by national, state or local governments or their agencies in the carrier's home country. Shareholdings are rounded to the nearest 0.1 per cent. Only holdings of 5 per cent or more are detailed, except for airlines having stakes in each other.
Source: Company reports, Airclaims, Air Transport Intelligence.
Source: Airline Business