The Anthropology of Airlines: Flag Carriers, Nationalism, Place, and Identity

In this study, I aim to explain the status of airline flag carriers as national and cultural symbols of their respected countries. With national interests and identity as part of their development, flag-carriers serve as “aerial ambassadors” representing their home nations. Through the media of design, uniforms, crew service, and advertising techniques, flag-carriers create a sense of place of their unique nations for both local and international passengers—promoting the “imagined communities” as coined by Benedict Anderson. Behind these flag-carriers are instances of public support and pride. The role of being an aerial ambassador emerges as the airline and nation become one entity, an association that could be either positive or negative. With examinations of airline websites, aviation marketing literature, and visual analyses, my research will show how flag-carriers express national identity across borders through their projected physical and cultural identities.