The Association of European Airlines (AEA) is a non-profit organization representing the interests of its member airlines to the institutions of the European Union, to the European Civil Aviation Conference, other institutional organisations or associations involved in or likely to be involved in issues of interest to AEA members and, individual governments. The AEA advances the cooperation amongst its members on any matter likely to be of interest to the membership as whole. In pursuing its objectives of airline promotion, the association collects, analyses and interprets information and carries out research required for the activities which it undertakes and acts as a liaison with associations, organizations or authorities whose activities and roles are relevant to the objectives of the AEA.

Since the end of 2002, the AEA has aimed to be an airline-driven lobbying organization. The AEA originally formed in 1952 from a joint study group initiated by the Presidents of Air France, KLM, Sabena, Swissair, SAS and later BEA (a forerunner of British Airways). Two years later the Air Research Bureau (ARB) was established in Brussels and the name was subsequently changed to the European Airlines Research Bureau and then in 1973 to AEA.

For most of AEA's history, membership was limited to IATA member airlines. This rule was relaxed in 1981 to allow Luxair to join and thereby complete the full set of EU flag-carrier members. AEA�s present members include: Adria Airways; Jat Airways; Aer Lingus; KLM, Air France; LOT Polish Airlines; Air Malta, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Alitalia; Luxair; Austrian; Malev Hungarian Airlines; British Airways; Meridiana; bmi; Olympic Airways; Cargolux; SAS; Croatia Airlines; SN Brussels Airlines, Czech Airlines, Spanair; Cyprus Airways; Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.; Finnair; TAP Air Portugal; Iberia; TAROM - Romanian Air Transport; Icelandair; Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.