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	AIRLINES

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Lendosa has a number of airlines, both state-owned and privately owned. The airline industry is, for the most part, a free market, with little government interference.

A map showing the major domestic routes of Lendosa's most important airlines is below. (It does not show international routes or minor domestic routes).




Major Carriers

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Confederate Airlines is the largest airline in the Lendosan Confederation. It is state-owned, having initially been part of Imperial Lendian Airways, the state airline of the old Lendian Empire. When the Empire collapsed, the airline was split between the new governments of Lendia and Piolsa - the former privatised its share, while the share given to the latter became the property of the new Confederation. The airline is based in Colchisia, the capital city of the Confederation, and serves cities across the whole country. It focuses on major, high-volume routes between major cities of the Confederation and foreign countries, and has relatively few routes to smaller destinations - the government's aim is to ensure linkages between the Confederation's key centres, rather than to provide broad local service. Confederate Airlines has, in the past, been known as Lendosan Airlines and Air Lendosa.


Lendian Airways is the second largest airline in Lendosa, narrowly behind Confederate Airlines. It was formed from the Lendian government's share of the old Imperial Lendian Airways, and is a privately owned company. It operates its primary hub at Gloria Libertatis, Lendia's capital, and its presence is strongest in the eastern half of Lendia proper. It is a major international airline, having a dense network of routes to and between the countries neighbouring Lendosa (many dating back to the days when they were all part of the Lendian Empire). The number of international passengers carried by Lendian Airways is slightly higher than that of Confederate Airlines - although Confederate Airlines has higher volumes on the major routes, it does not have the same level of service to secondary cities.


Piolsan Airlines, the third largest airline in the Lendosan Confederation, is headquartered in Tiris, the Piolsan capital. Its operations are largely centred on Piolsa, with only a few services to major cities in other parts of the Confederation and abroad. It is the oldest continually-operating airline in the country, having been founded in 269 AP. In the days of the Empire, it was the only real competitor to the state-owned Imperial Lendian Airways, but was prevented from making significant gains by extensive anti-competition laws designed to protect the government carrier. Piolsan Airlines is the largest Lendosan airline to be listed on the stock exchange.


Rivan Airways is an airline focused on the city of Riva, in northwestern Lendia. It is strongest on routes around the island's northern coast, and also has a relatively large market share for international flights to northern Longerath and across the Cislendian Ocean. It is a privately owned company, although the city government of Riva held a 49% share until recently. The airline prides itself on its comparitively "relaxed and friendly" approach, and has consistently won awards for this, although it has also struggled with reliability and on-time service.


AMA (officially, Aerolinas dala Mara da Azulaqua, or Airlines of the Sea of Blue Waters) is an airline whose operations are focused around the Sea of Blue Waters, the body of water separating the Lendosan islands from continental Longerath. The airline's focus is on international flights, connecting Lendosa to cities in Neoliliana, Estontetso, and other such countries, although it recently entered the domestic market with flights along the Confederation's eastern coasts.


Neonian Airlines, centred in the city of Zolariza (capital of the Lendian region of Neonia) focuses on flights across the Piolsan Strait, which separates Lendosa's two main islands. It has a secondary hub in Asala, Piolsa, and is also the largest airline serving the island of Ranha, which lies in the strait. It does not fly international routes.


Libertade Airlines is the Lendosan Confederation's largest and most successful low-cost carrier, flying both domestic and international routes. It has no particular geographic focus, although avoids some of the traditional hub cities due to their greater expense - for example, it has a major base at Benali, a short distance outside Gloria Libertatis, which it says provides cheaper service to its customers than the expensive and congested Gloria Libertatis International Airport.


Secondary Carriers

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Air Lavaia is an airline based in the islands of Lavaia, off the western coast of Piolsa. Although the airline originally focused solely on transport to, from, and between the Lavaian islands themselves, it has gradually expanded to become a major regional airline of western Piolsa - today, a majority of its flights do not actually serve the islands. It does not, however, offer services to central or eastern Piolsa, to any other island, or to foreign countries. Air Lavaia has an alliance with Lendian Airways, which has traditionally been weak in western Piolsa.


Rabeli Air is focused on Rabel, the third largest member of the Lendosan Confederation. It operates flights between the islands of Rabel, and to nearby cities on the Lendian mainland. It formerly operated longer-range flights to eastern Lendia, and between cities of western Lendia, but no longer does so, having reduced the scale of its operations significantly due to financial difficulties. It does not operate any international flights. Rabeli Air is 51% owned by the Rabeli government, which bought its share in order to stabilise the airline - Rabeli Air is considered an important piece of infrastructure, as it it connects Rabel's many small islands (which might not otherwise have any air services) and boosts Rabel's tourism industry.


Jhu Kha (roughly translated as "Kha mobility") is a general transport company based in Kha, operating planes, ferries, buses, and other forms of transport. Its airline division flies between the island of Kha to destinations on the Piolsan mainland - notably Valarium, the nearest large city. The airline does not fly internal routes in Kha - there are few major airports, and the population of outlying islands is considered too small to form a significant market. The airline briefly flew an international route to Melga, an island state not far from Kha, but this was cancelled due to the country's political turmoil, and has not been restarted.


Tikia Air Charters is a division of Tikia, a Rabel-based tourism, hotel, and resort company. Tikia Air Charters is the largest charter airline in Lendosa, having originally been established to serve the tourist industry. It has bases in Rabel, Riva, and Gloria Libertatis.