Largest airlines in the world
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The largest airlines in the world can be measured in several ways. As of 2023[update], Delta Air Lines was the largest by revenue, assets, market, flight size and brand value; American Airlines Group by passengers carried and employees; FedEx Express by freight tonne-kilometers; Southwest Airlines by routes; and Turkish Airlines by countries served.
According to Forbes in 2023, Delta Airways had the highest revenue among public airlines, followed by American Airlines Group and United Airlines Holdings. Emirates and Qatar Airways, being state-owned and privately held respectively, are not included in this list. Brand Finance, in 2024, ranks Delta Air Lines as the most valuable airline brand, followed by American Airlines and United Airlines. Emirates and Qatar Airways also feature prominently in terms of brand value.
American Airlines Group carried the most passengers in 2021, followed by Delta Air Lines and Ryanair. United Airways, Lufthansa, and Southwest Airlines also rank highly in passenger numbers, highlighting the dominance of US and European carriers in flight volume.
By financial performance
[edit]Revenue
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | Revenue | Profit | Assets | Market cap. |
Employees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(US$ billions) | |||||||
1 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 59 | 5 | 75 | 34 | 100,000 |
2 | United Airlines Holdings | United States | 54.8 | 2.7 | 71.9 | 18.1 | 103,300 |
3 | American Airlines Group | United States | 53.2 | 0.5 | 64.4 | 9.7 | 132,100 |
4 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 38.8 | 1.5 | 51.1 | 8.7 | 96,677 |
5 | Air France–KLM | France/ Netherlands | 32.9 | 0.69 | 37.5 | 3 | 75,000 |
6 | International Airlines Group | United Kingdom/ Spain | 31.8 | 2.9 | 41.6 | 11.1 | 71,794 |
7 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 26.7 | 0.43 | 36 | 16.7 | 74,806 |
8 | China Southern Airlines | China | 22.5 | –0.59 | 43.7 | 7.3 | 99,468 |
9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 21.2 | 6.8 | 35.6 | 13.8 | 55,884 |
10 | Air Canada | Canada | 16.4 | 1.6 | 22 | 4.8 | 35,675 |
11 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 16 | –1.2 | 40.1 | 5.5 | 81,781 |
Note that Emirates is a state-owned company, and is thus not included in this list of public companies. Its revenue was estimated to be around US$37.4 billion in 2024, which would have had placed the company into 5th place. Previous estimations of over US$29.2 billion and 6th place in 2023, over US$18 billion and 5th place in 2021. Qatar Airways Group is similarly privately held with its 2024 revenue of around 22.2 billion USD placing it into 10th place (with Emirates included) above Turkish Airlines. Previously nearly 21 billion USD and 9th place in 2023.
Brand value
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | $bn | Year-to-year change |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 10.771 | +20.7% |
2 | American Airlines | United States | 10.242 | +20.7% |
3 | United Airlines | United States | 8.676 | +11.5% |
4 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 6.610 | +29.5% |
5 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 5.394 | +14.7% |
6 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 3.175 | +45.2% |
7 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 3.138 | +27.0% |
8 | Air Canada | Canada | 2.805 | +8.6% |
9 | China Southern Airlines | China | 2.767 | −14.3% |
10 | Ryanair | Ireland | 2.541 | +7.1% |
By flight volume
[edit]Passengers carried
[edit]Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | United States | 199 | 95.3 | 215 | 203 | 199 | 198 | 146 | 87.8 | 86.8 | 86.3 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 175 | 80.0 | 204 | 192 | 186 | 183 | 138 | 129 | 120 | 116 |
3 | Ryanair | Ireland | 168 | 52.4 | 148 | 142 | 130 | 119 | 101 | 86.3 | 81.3 | 79.6 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 157 | 67.8 | 162 | 163 | 157 | 151 | 144 | 129 | 115 | 112 |
5 | United Airlines Holdings | United States | 144 | 57.8 | 162 | 158 | 148 | 143 | 95.3 | 90.4 | 90.1 | 92.6 |
6 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 101 | 36.4 | 145 | 142 | 130 | 117 | 115 | 112 | 110 | 108 |
7 | IAG | UK & Spain |
94.7 | 31.3 #12 |
118 | 112 | 104 | 100 | 94.9 | 77.3 | 67.2 | 54.6 |
8 | Air France–KLM | France & Netherlands |
83.3 | 28.9 #14 |
85.6 #12 |
|||||||
9 | IndiGo | India | 75.3 | 35.0 #11 |
61.9 #16 |
|||||||
10 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 71.8 | 28.0 #17= |
75.2 #14 |
|||||||
China Southern Air Holding | China | 62.6 #12 |
96.9 | 151 | 139 | 126 | 84.9 | 109 | 100 | 91.5 | 86.2 | |
China Eastern Air Holding | China | 42.5 #17 |
74.5 | 130 | 121 | 110 | 80.9 | 75.1 | 66.1 | 62.6 | 79.6 | |
Air China Group | China | 38.6 #24 |
68.7 | 115 | 109 | 101 | 96.5 | 89.8 | 83.0 | 77.7 | 72.4 | |
Hainan Airlines Group | China | 21.0 #39 |
37 | 79.9 #13 |
||||||||
Sources | [3][4] | [5] | [6] | [7] | [8] | [9] | [10] | [11] | [12] | [13] |
Scheduled passenger-kilometers flown (billions)
[edit]Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | United States | 347 | 259 | 147 | 388 | 364 | ~359 | 358 | ~206 |
2 | United Airlines Holdings | United States | 332 | 207 | 118 | 385 | 347 | ~328 | 335 | ~287 |
3 | Delta Air Lines Group | United States | 314 | 216 | 118 | 382 | 350 | ~342 | 337 | ~278 |
4 | Air France–KLM | France/ Netherlands | 237 | 116 | 81.2 | 275 | 248 | ~238 | 235 | ~228 |
5 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 225 | 93.7 #11 |
78.7 | 298 | 292 | ~270 | 255 | ~209 |
6 | International Airlines Group | UK/ Spain | 215 | 78.6 #15 |
72.2 | 285 | 252 | ~243 | 221 | ~186 |
7 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 207 | 89.3 #13 |
69.4 | 296 | 261 | ~226 | 220 | ~153 |
8 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 199 | 166 | 87.2 | 211 #11 |
207 | ~200 | 189 | ~167 |
9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 162 | 153 #15 |
||||||
10 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 154 | 172 #13 |
||||||
Ryanair | Ireland | 116 #11 |
~121 | 185 (#12) |
130 #12 |
~103 #15 | ||||
China Southern Air Holding | China | 102 #13 |
152 | 153 | 284 | 230 | ~206 | 189 | ~148 | |
Aeroflot Group | Russia | 98.4 #14 |
100 | 68.0 #11 |
156 #14 |
97.6 #20 |
||||
China Eastern Air Holding | China | 61.2 #23 |
108 | 107 | 220 | 183 | ~167 #11 |
146 #11 |
~120 #11 | |
Air China Group | China | 60.3 #24 |
104 | 109 | 233 | 201 | ~188 | 171 | ~142 | |
Sources | [3] | [14][15] | [5] | [16] | [8] | [17] | [18] | [19] |
Rank | Airline | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | United States | 308 | 237 | 123 | 342 | 330 | 323 | 320 | 320 | 208 | 206 |
2 | United Airlines | United States | 305 | 178 | 100 | 342 | 329 | 310 | 299 | 294 | 287 | 286 |
3 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 292 | 195 | 106 | 350 | 330 | 316 | 308 | 302 | 290 | 277 |
4 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 225 | 93.7 | 78.7 | 299 | 302 | 288 | 270 | 251 | 230 | 209 |
5 | Ryanair | Ireland | ~207 | 120 | 64.9 | 185 | 170 | 157 | 142 | 125 | ||
6 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 199 | 166 | 87.2 | 211 | 214 | 207 | 200 | 189 | 162 | 145 |
7 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | ~168 | 91.5 | 57.1 | 172 | 152 #11 |
137 #11 |
||||
8 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 162 | 86.7 | 52.2 #11 |
150 #14 |
145 #13 |
125 #14 |
||||
9 | Air France | France | 123 | 60.1 #13 |
48.8 #12 |
150 #13 |
143 #14 |
136 #12 |
139 | 134 | 136 | |
10 | Lufthansa | Germany | 119 | 50.0 #17 |
37.5 #16 |
165 #11 |
158 | 152 | 149 | 145 | 143 | 144 |
British Airways | United Kingdom | 104 #12 |
30.6 #30 |
38.8 #14 |
155 #12 |
151 #12 |
144 | 140 | 137 | 130 | ||
China Southern Airlines | China | 102 #13 |
109 | 110 | 213 | 200 | 177 | 205 | 189 | 166 | 147 | |
Qantas | Australia | 63.8 #22 |
10.1 #77 |
86.1 #24 |
85.6 #23 |
120 #15 |
110 | |||||
China Eastern Airlines | China | 61.2 #24 |
88.6 | 88.7 | 186 | 166 | 150 | 138 | ||||
Air China | China | 60.3 #25 |
67.7 #11 |
71.4 | 169 | 161 | 146 | 135 #13 |
112 | |||
Sources | [4] | [14] | [20] | [21] | [22] | [23] | [24] | [25] | [26] |
Scheduled freight tonne-kilometers (millions)
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FedEx Express | United States | 17,923 | 19,547 | 20,660 | 19,656 | 17,503 | 17,499 | 16,851 | 15,712 | 15,799 | 16,020 |
2 | Qatar Airways Cargo | Qatar | 14,406 | 14,267 | 16,102 | 13,740 | 13,024 | 12,695 | 10,999 | 9,221 | 7,660 | 5,997 |
3 | UPS Airlines | United States | 14,239 | 15,889 | 15,529 | 14,371 | 12,842 | 12,459 | 11,940 | 11,264 | 10,807 | 10,936 |
4 | Emirates SkyCargo | United Arab Emirates | 10,636 | 10,153 | 11,842 | 9,569 | 12,052 | 12,713 | 12,715 | 12,270 | 12,157 | 11,240 |
5 | Atlas Air | United States | 8,915 | 8,675 | 8,441 | 5,458 #12 | 4,522 #16 | 4,553 #16 | ||||
6 | Korean Air Cargo | South Korea | 8,411 | 9,518 | 10,429 | 8,104 | 7,412 | 7,839 | 8,015 | 7,666 | 7,761 | 8,079 |
7 | Turkish Cargo | Turkey | 8,325 | 8,318 | 9,223 | 6,977 | 7,029 | 5,890 #12 | 4,728 #15 | 3,640 #20 | ||
8 | Cathay Pacific Cargo | Hong Kong | 8,099 | 5,774 #13 | 8,215 | 8,137 | 10,930 | 11,284 | 10,772 | 9,947 | 9,935 | 9,464 |
9 | China Southern Airlines Cargo | China | 7,610 | 6,915 | 8,078 | 6,591 | 6,825 | 6,597 | 6,174 #11 | 5,939 #11 | 5,355 #11 | 4,736 #12 |
10 | Cargolux | Luxembourg | 6,807 | 7,971 | 8,587 | 7,345 | 7,180 | 7,322 | 7,322 | 6,878 | 6,309 | 5,753 |
Air China Cargo | China | 5,633 #12 | 6,077 #12 | 7,016 #12 | 6,121 #11 | 6,767 #11 | 7,051 | 6,701 | 6,089 | 5,718 | 4,910 #11 | |
Lufthansa Cargo | Germany | 5,374 #13 | 5,153 #16 | 5,324 #17 | 4,828 #15 | 7,226 | 7,394 | 7,317 | 7,384 | 6,888 | 7,054 | |
China Airlines Cargo | Taiwan | 5,336 #14 | 6,359 | 7,513 #11 | 6,317 | 5,334 #13 | 5,804 #13 | 5,741 #12 | 5,273 #12 | 5,343 #12 | 5,266 | |
Singapore Airlines Cargo | Singapore | 4,854 #16 | 5,193 #15 | 5,462 #16 | 4,156 #17 | 6,146 #12 | 6,491 #11 | 6,592 | 6,345 | 6,083 | 6,019 | |
Sources | [27] | [28] | [29] | [20] | [30] | [21] | [22] | [23] | [24] | [31] |
By fleet size
[edit]Aircraft operated
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Delta Air Lines[a] | United States | 993 | [citation needed] |
2 | United Airlines[a] | United States | 986 | [citation needed] |
3 | American Airlines[a] | United States | 971 | [citation needed] |
4 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 803 | [citation needed] |
5 | China Southern Airlines | China | 657 | [citation needed] |
6 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 647 | [citation needed] |
7 | SkyWest Airlines[b] | United States | 577 | [citation needed] |
8 | Air China | China | 498 | [citation needed] |
9 | FedEx Express[c] | United States | 472 | [citation needed] |
10 | IndiGo | India | 413 | [citation needed] |
Aircraft owned
[edit]Rank | Holding company | No. | Value ($bn) |
---|---|---|---|
1 (tie) | American Airlines Group | 854 | 16.7 |
1 (tie) | Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 854 | 15.8 |
3 | United Airlines Holdings | 764 | 17.9 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | 759 | 16.8 |
5 | China Eastern Airlines | 583 | 18.5 |
6 | Air China Group | 580 | 19.0 |
7 | China Southern Airlines | 545 | 17.3 |
8 | Ryanair Holdings | 529 | 15.3 |
9 | SkyWest, Inc. | 520 | 4.5 |
10 | Lufthansa Group | 514 | 11.7 |
Aircraft capacity (million scheduled seats)
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | Annual Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | United States | 248 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 210 |
3 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 208 |
4 | United Airlines | United States | 177 |
5 | Ryanair | Ireland | 169 |
6 | China Southern Airlines | China | 106 |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 101 |
8 | IndiGo | India | 99.4 |
9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 89.4 |
10 | easyJet | United Kingdom | 88.1 |
By route network
[edit]Countries served
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 120 | [34] |
2 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 89 | [35] |
3 | Air France | France | 85 | [36] |
4 | Ethiopian Airlines | Ethiopia | 84 | [37] |
5 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 80 | [38] |
=6 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 77 | [39] |
=6 | Lufthansa | Germany | 77 | [40] |
8 | United Airlines | United States | 73 | [41] |
9 | American Airlines | United States | 63 | [42] |
10 | KLM | Netherlands | 62 | [43] |
Passenger destinations served
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | United States | 371 | [41] |
2 | American Airlines | United States | 356 | [42] |
3 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 311 | [44] |
4 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 287 | [45] |
5 | China Southern Airlines | China | 247 | [46] |
6 | Ryanair | Ireland | 234 | [47] |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 226 | [48] |
8 | Lufthansa | Germany | 219 | [40] |
9 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 214 | [39] |
10 | Air France | France | 205 | [36] |
Routes served
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 3,161 | [49] |
2 | Ryanair | Ireland | 2,631 | [50] |
3 | American Airlines | United States | 1,237 | [42] |
4 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 1,051 | [48] |
5 | United Airlines | United States | 1,033 | [41] |
6 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 975 | [44] |
7 | China Southern Airlines | China | 963 | [46] |
8 | Air China | China | 641 | [51] |
9 | IndiGo | India | 610 | [52] |
10 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 531 | [53] |
Number of daily flights
[edit]Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | United States | 4,753 |
2 | United Airlines | United States | 4,101 |
3 | Ryanair | Ireland | 3,292 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 3,274 |
5 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 2,872 |
6 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 2,387 |
7 | China Southern Airlines | China | 2,268 |
8 | IndiGo | India | 2,074 |
9 | Air China | China | 1,681 |
10 | easyJet | United Kingdom | 1,338 |
See also
[edit]- Flag carrier
- List of largest airlines in North America
- List of largest airlines in Europe
- List of largest airlines in Central America and the Caribbean
- List of largest airlines in Africa
- List of largest airlines in Asia
- List of largest airlines in South America
- List of largest airlines in Oceania
- List of airline holding companies
- List of the busiest airports in Africa
- List of the busiest airports in Asia
- List of the busiest airports in Europe
- List of the busiest airports in Latin America
- List of the busiest airports
- List of busiest airports by passenger traffic
- List of busiest airports by aircraft movements
- List of busiest passenger air routes
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