Corraile Airlines

Corraile Airlines is the largest airline in Corraile and also one fo the largest carriers of the AIN. The carrier employs over 47,644 staff, and has a fleet of 135 aircraft, almost all of which are Airbus. It is the main constituent operation of the Corraile Airlines Group, with corporate headquarters in Centreburg. Corraile Airlines' largest hub is Centreburg Gateway International Airport, with other hubs in Freedo International Airport and Colganston International Airport. The airline is a founding member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, and offers connections to over 1,000 destinations in over 170 countries worldwide. The airline's regional service is Corraile Shuttle.

Foundation
Up until World War II, Corrailite civil aviation was dominated by the presence of Corraile Air Ways (no relation to the postwar Corraile Airways), which operated Douglas DC-3 aircraft between major points within the Atlantic Territories, with an international connection to Halifax. The "Silver Service", as it was known then, came to an end when the Colonial Government requisitioned all the Douglas aircraft for the war effort. Connectivity between the major urban areas was maintained by the Royal British Corraile Air Force (RBCAF), which operated a spartan network between the major settlements of Centreburg, Freedo, Colganston, Highvale and Territory of Stanraer Island using the smaller, more obsolescent Douglas DC-2.

In the initial postwar period, the RBCAF continued its civil transport operations. In 1947, these operations, alongside with 6 wartime-surplus Douglas C-47 Skytrains, were transferred to a new entity, Corraile Airways. As the demand for travel boomed, so did the carrier, which rapidly modernised with newer, larger Convair CV-240s, which replaced the C-47s on trunk routes and freed the latter to begin service to smaller airports. The rise in demand for air travel spurred the Colonial Government to liberalise the civil air transport sector. Thus, under the Liberal Government elected to power in the Atlantic Territories, private carriers were started, operating from different cities and in direct competition with Corraile Airways, which by 1954, when liberalisation occurred, was an established player in the business, operating modern aircraft such as the Convair CV-340 and the Lockheed Constellation.

Founded in 1954 with assistance from the Highvale Municipal Council, Highvale Airlines (as Corraile Airlines was known then) began service, much like other carriers around the world then, with the Douglas DC-3. Operating from Highvale's Carlaken Airport, it flew to major destinations such as Centreburg as well as regional points such as Parris and Brickport. High utilisation of it's available aircraft, an able management and generous state assistance enabled the airline to grow through the 1950s, ending the decade with a decidedly much stronger financial position and a fleet of modern Lockheed Electra turboprop airliners and the pressurised Douglas DC-6B. It was able to differentiate itself from it's competitors (most notably Corraile Airways) by operating to smaller destinations and embracing modern technology.

The Jet Age
In 1958, Corraile Airways announced an order for 15 Boeing 707s, marking the arrival of the Jet Age into Corrailite skies. Despite orders from other carriers, such as Stanraer Atlantic for Douglas DC-8s and Transatlantic Airlines of Corraile for the Boeing 707, Highvale Airlines chose not to orders jets, sticking instead to it's turbine-powered fleet of Electras. Given that much of the airline's route network was concentrated around short and medium-haul routes to smaller airports, jets were seen as not being financially prudent for the airline's operations. However, the airline showed considerable interest in the French Sud Aviation Caravelle jet airliner, given it's smaller seating capacity and better runway performance, which suited the airline's operations. Political pressure, however, forced the carrier to abandon plans to purchase the Caravelle in favour of British designs under development, designs which would culminate in the Hawker Siddeley Trident. (Eventually the airline would shun the type in favour of the Boeing 727)

In 1961, a sales call by Boeing resulted in the airline placing a firm order for it's first jet airliner, the Boeing 727. With seating for 121 in the airline's two-class configuration, it offered a quantitative advantage over the airline's Electra turboprops, and was significantly faster than the latter as well. With it's ability to land on short runways and operate independent of ground support, it suited the airline's operations. The airline would go on to operate 22 Boeing 727-100s and some 16 of the larger Boeing 727-200s. These jet aircraft enabled the airline to become competitive with Corraile Airways for the first time, given that the Boeing 727-200s could match the capacity and speed of the latter's Boeing 707s at the time. With the much improved operating capabilities of the new jets,t he airline was able to extend operations to many more international destinations, reaching Washington DC, Detroit and Winnipeg for the first time.

By 1968, the airline was Corraile's second largest, boasting a network that reached 12 domestic destinations and 44 international ones.

Widebodies and International Expansion
The granting of Fifth Freedom rights by the British government to the airline in 1970 led to the airline's interest in serving destinations across the Atlantic. This coincided with the introduction of widebodies into regular passenger service, as well as the expansion of airport facilities within Corraile to handle these widebodies. Corraile Airways had already purchased the Boeing 747 for use on it's Transatlantic routes, and other carriers, most notably TAC, which had also ordered the Douglas DC-10 widebody jet to compete. Increasingly compelled to purchase a widebodied jet to effectively compete against its rivals, the airline's Board of Directors finally authorised a purchase for 6 Douglas DC-10-10 jets and 4 longer-range Douglas DC-10-30s, and announced it's first truly long-haul route, between Centreburg and Munich with a stopover in London. In addition, the airline also announced plans to move it's main hub from Highvale's Carlaken Airport to the then-newly opened Centreburg Gateway International Airport, in order to consolidate it's route network around the country's only widebody-capable airport at the time.

At this period of time, the Highvale Municipal Council was still a major stakeholder in the company (owning at least 49% of the company's stake), and owned the trademark to the airline's name, which it then leased to the airline for use. Concerned over the obvious impact the airline's withdrawal from Highvale would have on the local economy, the Council threatened to terminate the lease of the airline's name unless the airline maintained at least a focus city in Carlaken Airport. No compromised was reached between the airline and the Municipal Council, and the airline duly pulled out from Highvale in December 7 1969, while the airline was denied the use of it's trademark the day after. As a result, the airline was renamed to Corraile Airlines International, the "International" having been placed there to both reflect on the fact that it was an international carrier, and to help differentiate the airline from rival Corraile Airways.

The airline received it's first Douglas DC-10 widebody on March 28 1972, which it used to inaugurate it's Transatlantic service between Centreburg and Munich. The arrival of more DC-10-30s heralded the airline's expansion into Europe, opening routes intoMadrid, Paris and Zurich. Closer to home, the shorter-ranged, "domestic" DC-10-10s significantly increased the airline's presence in the United States, flying into major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle.

"Spheres of Influence" Era
By 1973, there were 3 major Corrailite airlines in operation: Corraile Airlines International, Corraile Airways and Corraile Central, founded by the merger of United AIrlines of Corraile (itself a product of merger between Air Freedo and TAC) and Stanraer Atlantic. The Labour-dominated Corrailite government, eager to protect the interests of each airline and prevent overcompetition, introduced the "Spheres of Influence" policy, denoting several regions around the world which were exclusive to a particular carrier. Corraile Airlines International was given exclusive rights to operate international services to the Middle East, North and Western Africa and several secondary destinations throughout Europe. Due to many of the airline's international destinations in oil-rich regions, it was commonly referred to as "Oil Air". The airline used it's fleet of DC-10s (which would eventually reach a peak of 36) to expand into the regions allocated to it, and began service to Jeddah, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Istanbul in 1974, Tehran, Cairo, Algiers, Baghdad and Riyadh in 1975, and Tel Aviv and Beirut in 1976. Further expansion was coincided with closure of several routes later on due to political pressure, when the airline initiated service to Lagos in 179 and ceased service in Tehran that same year after the Iranian Revolution. Similarly, the airline began service to Casablanca in 1981 and ceased service to Baghdad.

Despite the unstable nature of politics in the 1970s and 1980s in the regions that the airline served, the carrier continued to grow, adding the Airbus A300 widebody to complement the Douglas DC-10-10 on high-density domestic routes and North American routes. Furthermore, service was extended to the Caribbean, with the airline expanding to serve the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Puerto Rico. Protected by the Government and the "Spheres of Influence" policy except in the North American and domestic market, the airline thrived, replacing many of it's earlier Boeing 727-100s with the Boeing 737-200, opening a second hub in Freedo, and for a period of time, operating domestic US air routes under the Eighth freedom.

However, the policy had not entirely stopped the airline from establishing some form of a presence in markets outside of it's "Sphere of Influence", since the policy only prevented carriers from infringing on another carrier's region by way of scheduled passenger or cargo services. Eager to exploit the loophole, the airline established a Charter arm in 1980, purchasing 2 former Corraile Airways Boeing 707s and operating ad hoc charter services on behalf of package tour operators to destinations around the world, both within and beyond the airline's own region. 6 more ex-Corraile Airlines International 727s were drafted into service to operate short and medium-haul charter flights. The end of the "Spheres of Influence" policy meant that the Charter arm was no longer necessary, and it was soon disestablished.

The purchase of Corraile Central by Corraile Airways led to the formal discontinuation of the "Spheres of Influence" policy, which henceforth allowed direct competition between the two airlines on all international routes. Expansion and modernisation of the airline's fleet, combined with the low price of fuel in the 1980s, meant that it was well-poised to expand it's international services dramatically, it's modern Boeing 767s operating on major trunk routes into North and Central America, while the airline expanded aggressively into key European markets as well, flying into London Heathrow Airport for the first time (the airline was previously forced to use the less convenient Gatwick Airport), as well as Frankfurt.