XooCode(){

Airline

Airline is an Organization subtype for airlines and air carriers. It has 2 properties of its own: iataCode (the two-letter airline code) and boardingPolicy. Google uses it for the airline knowledge panel, Google Flights integration, and travel-related searches.

The type hierarchy is Thing → Organization → Airline. Airline inherits all Organization properties: name, url, logo, address, contactPoint, sameAs. It does not extend LocalBusiness (an airline is an organization, not a storefront).

Full example of schema.org/Airline json-ld markup

The markup is verified as valid with Rich Results Test from Google.

Highlight legend:Required by GoogleRecommendedOptional
schema.org/Airline
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@id": "https://nordicair.dk#airline",
  "@type": "Airline",
  "name": "Nordic Air",
  "description": "Regional airline connecting Scandinavia with the northeastern United States. Daily flights between Copenhagen, Oslo, and Scranton/Dunmore.",
  "url": "https://nordicair.dk",
  "logo": "https://nordicair.dk/images/logo.png",
  "iataCode": "NX",
  "boardingPolicy": "https://schema.org/ZoneBoardingPolicy",
  "foundingDate": "2019",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Lufthavnsvej 12",
    "addressLocality": "Copenhagen",
    "addressCountry": "DK"
  },
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+45-70-123-456",
    "contactType": "customer service",
    "availableLanguage": ["English", "Danish", "Norwegian", "Swedish"]
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/nordicair",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/nordicair"
  ]
}
</script>

iataCode on Airline

iataCode on Airline is a two-letter code (unlike the three-letter Airport iataCode). Examples: AA (American Airlines), BA (British Airways), SK (SAS). Google Flights and booking systems use this to match the Airline entity to flight data. It is the most important identifier on the type.

boardingPolicy

boardingPolicy uses the BoardingPolicyType enum with two values: https://schema.org/ZoneBoardingPolicy (passengers board by seat zone) and https://schema.org/GroupBoardingPolicy (passengers board by group number). Google and travel apps read this for the airline knowledge panel. Most major airlines use one of these two policies.

Airline vs Airport

An Airport is a CivicStructure (a Place). An Airline is an Organization. They share the iataCode property but represent fundamentally different entities. An airline operates flights. An airport is the physical infrastructure where flights depart and arrive. Each needs its own markup.

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid Airline entity. Use it as the floor. Reach for the advanced example above when you want search engines and AI agents to understand more about your content.

schema.org/Airline (minimal)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Airline",
  "name": "Nordic Air",
  "iataCode": "NX"
}
</script>

Google rich results this unlocks

Markup matching this example makes your page eligible for the following Google Search rich results. The primary target drives the required / recommended property classification in the advanced code block above.

Common Airline mistakes

Mistakes that pass validation but silently fail to earn rich results or mislead consumers walking the graph. Avoid these and your markup will be ahead of most sites in the wild.

  1. 01

    Three-letter iataCode on Airline

    Wrong
    "iataCode": "NXA" (three letters, which is an airport code)
    Right
    "iataCode": "NX" (two letters for airlines)

    Airline IATA codes are two letters. Airport IATA codes are three letters. Putting a three-letter code on an Airline entity means Google Flights cannot match it to flight data. The format difference is how systems distinguish airlines from airports.

  2. 02

    boardingPolicy as a plain string

    Wrong
    "boardingPolicy": "zone-based"
    Right
    "boardingPolicy": "https://schema.org/ZoneBoardingPolicy"

    boardingPolicy uses the BoardingPolicyType enum with full schema.org URLs. The two valid values are ZoneBoardingPolicy and GroupBoardingPolicy. Plain text descriptions are not recognized.

  3. 03

    Using LocalBusiness for an airline

    Wrong
    "@type": "LocalBusiness" for an airline's ticket counter
    Right
    "@type": "Airline" for the airline itself; LocalBusiness for a physical ticket office if needed

    An airline is an Organization, not a LocalBusiness. Its primary identity is the carrier, not a physical storefront. A ticket counter at an airport could be marked as LocalBusiness separately, but the airline entity itself should be Airline.

  4. 04

    Missing contactPoint

    Wrong
    Airline with name and iataCode but no contactPoint
    Right
    "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "...", "contactType": "customer service" }

    Airlines are one of the most contacted types of organization. A structured contactPoint with telephone, contactType, and availableLanguage lets Google display customer service information directly in the knowledge panel.

Schema properties in this example

AirlinenamedescriptionurllogoiataCodeboardingPolicyfoundingDateaddressPostalAddresscontactPointContactPointtelephonecontactTypeavailableLanguagesameAs

About the example data

Nordic Air is a fictional airline that operates flights between Copenhagen and Lackawanna Valley Airport. It connects the Danish part of the Xoo universe (Jane Xoo, the Royal Danish Medical Journal) with the Dunmore part (Xoo Code Shop, XooCon).

Comments

Loading comments...

Leave a comment