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straight; direct; traveling a direct route:
Some railroads advertise air-line routes between stations.
Aeronautics.

a system furnishing air transport, usually scheduled, between specified points.
the airplanes, airports, etc., of such a system.
Often, airlines. a company that owns or operates such a system.

a direct line; beeline.
an airhose used to pipe air to a deep-sea diver, pneumatic drill, etc.
of or on an airline.
Contemporary Examples

A rundown of the agony and expense of airline travel as you look forward to the holidays.
Holiday Travel: Rundown of Agony December 10, 2011

One male representative was amused, suggesting that if the amendment passed, some airline stewardesses might be replaced with men.
The Truth About Title IX Karen Blumenthal June 21, 2012

So imagine my surprise when I saw him scan the movie selections on the airline personal movie player and select Sex and the City.
Can a Straight Man Love Sex and the City? Michael Patrick King May 22, 2010

My trafficker arranged my passport, visa and airline ticket before I left, then took my documents when I arrived.
How To Help America’s Trafficking Victims In The Long Term Ima Matul June 22, 2014

The next move in airline consolidation may bring together a stodgy American brand with a sexy British one.
Delta Airlines Seeks to Buy Stake in Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Clive Irving December 2, 2012

Historical Examples

That is almost the kind of work that I do, or the airline stewardesses do, serve food and everything.
Warren Commission (1 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15) The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

And is there anything we can do about it, or will it be like the airline incident.
Fifty Per Cent Prophet Gordon Randall Garrett

So it was not a question of the airline putting all its cards on the table.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers

So his competitor for possession of the Mackay ranch was the airline itself!
The Land of Strong Men Arthur M. Chisholm

There it is said that the ten senior members of this airline had been involved in organized deception.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers

noun

a system or organization that provides scheduled flights for passengers or cargo
(as modifier): an airline pilot

a hose or tube carrying air under pressure
(mainly US) a beeline
n.

also air-line, 1813, “beeline, straight line from place to place” (as through the air, rather than over terrain; in later 19c. especially in reference to railways that ran directly between big cities in the U.S. instead of meandering from town to town in search of stock subscriptions as early railways typically did), from air (n.1) + line (n.). Meaning “public aircraft transportation company” is from 1914.