Largest airlines in the world explained

The largest airlines in the world can be defined in several ways., Delta Air Lines was the largest by revenue, assets, market capitalization and brand value; American Airlines Group by passengers carried, fleet size and employees; FedEx Express by freight tonne-kilometers; Southwest Airlines by routes; and Turkish Airlines by countries served.

According to Forbes in 2023, Delta Air Lines 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 2022, followed by Delta Air Lines and Ryanair. United Airlines, Lufthansa, and Southwest Airlines also rank highly in passenger numbers, highlighting the dominance of US and European carriers in flight volume.

By financial performance

Revenue

Forbes world's biggest public airline companies by revenue (as of January 2023)[1]
RankAirline CountryRevenueProfitAssetsMarket
cap. 		Employees
(US$ billions)
1Delta Air Lines United States53.99 1.90 73.13 21.81 95,000
2 United States52.26 1.77 66.79 9.05 129,700
3 United States48.82 1.92 70.42 14.7 103,300
4 Germany35.80 0.94 48.79 12.10 109,509
5 France/ Netherlands29.41 0.97 34.81 4.12 78,950
6 United States24.83 0.65 35.55 17.65 66,000
724.28 1.15 41.95 9.41 66,044
8 Turkey19.68 2.79 32.00 8.88 40,264
9 China12.92 44.92 12.54 100,431
10 Canada12.72 21.78 5.33 42,916

Note that Emirates is a state-owned company, and is thus not included in this list of public companies. Its 2023 revenue was estimated over US$29.2 billion, which would have had placed the company into 6th place. 2021's over US$18 billion and 5th place. Its 2014-2015 revenue was billion (billion), profit billion (billion), and assets billion (billion), with 56,725 employees. Qatar Airways Group is similarly privately held with 2023 revenue of nearly 21 billion USD placing it into the 9th place (with Emirates included) above Turkish Airlines.

Brand value

Largest airlines by brand value (US$ billions) according to Brand Finance (2024)[2] ! Rank! Airline! Country! $bn! Year-to-year
change
1 Delta Air Lines10.771
2 10.242
3 United Airlines8.676
4 Emirates United Arab Emirates6.610
5 Southwest Airlines5.394
6 British Airways3.175
7 Qatar Airways3.138
8 Air Canada2.805
9 China Southern Airlines2.767
10 Ryanair2.541

By flight volume

Passengers carried

Millions of passengers carried
RankAirline GroupCountry20222020[3] 2019[4] 2018[5] 2017[6] 2016[7] 2015[8] 2014[9] 2013[10] 2012[11] 2011[12]
1American Airlines Group United States199.3 95.3 215.2 203.7199.6198.7146.5387.8386.82386.33586.042
2Delta Air Lines United States175.0 80.0 204.0192.5186.4183.7138.842129.433120.636116.726113.731
3Ryanair Ireland168.6 52.4 148.6142.1130.3119.8 101.40186.37081.39579.64976.422
4Southwest Airlines United States157.0 67.8 162.7163.6157.8151.8144.575129.087115.323112.234110.587
5United Airlines Holdings United States144.3 57.8 162.4158.3148.1143.295.38490.43990.16192.61950.473
6Lufthansa Group Germany101.8 36.4 145.2142.3130.0117.4115.2112.5110.4108.9112.0
7IAG/ Spain94.7 31.3 118.3112.9104.83100.794.977.367.254.651.7
8Air France–KLM France/ Netherlands83.3 28.9 85.6
9IndiGo India75.3 35.0 61.9
10Turkish Airlines Turkey71.8 28.0 75.2

Scheduled passenger-kilometers flown (millions)

Airline holding groups
RankAirline GroupCountry2022[13] 2021[14] 20202019[15] 20172016[16] 2015[17] 2013[18]
1347,221 259,570 147,746 388,254 364,191 ~359,400 358,823 ~206,500
2332,997 207,572 118,878 385,211 347,963 ~328,200 335,728 ~287,200
3314,783 216,766 118,120 382,400 350,299 ~342,600 337,264 ~278,000
4Air France–KLM France/ 237,567 116,104 81,212 275,500 248,476 ~238,200 235,715 ~228,900
5 United Arab Emirates225,867 93,799 78,746 298,000 292,221 ~270,800 255,176 ~209,300
6215,749 78,689 72,262 285,800 252,819 ~243,500 221,996
7207,035 89,397 69,462 296,500 261,156 ~226,600 220,400 ~153,400
8199,425 166,667 87,242 211,379 207,802 ~200,700 189,057 ~167,800
9162,665 153,200
10154,372 172,600
116,625 185,405 130,588 ~103,500
102,078 152,426 153,442 284,900 230,697 ~206,100 189,552 ~148,400
98,407 100,112 68,014 156,250 97,636
61,272 108,804 107,302 220,000 183,152 ~167,500 146,291 ~120,400
China60,354 104,626 109,832 233,178 201,090 ~188,100 171,695 ~142,600
Individual airlines
RankAirlineCountry2022[19] 2021[20] 2020[21] 20192018[22] 2017[23] 2016[24] 2015[25] 2014[26] 2013[27] 2012[28] 2011[29]
1 United States308,065237,471 123,997 342,510 330,577 323,968 320,044 320,813 208,046 206,551 203,336 203,485
2United Airlines United States305,893178,499 100,188 342,935 329,562 310,859 299,080 294,970287,547286,802288,282160,270
3Delta Air Lines United States292,202195,312 106,488 350,145 330,034 316,378 308,088 302,512290,862277,560271,567269,724
4Emirates United Arab Emirates225,86793,799 78,746 299,496 302,298 288,886 270,797 251,190 230,855 209,377 180,880 153,264
5120,563 64,928 185,405 170,900 157,114 142,740 125,194
6 United States199,263166,631 87,263 211,379 214,561 207,762 200,848 189,097 162,445 145,124 137,708 134,918
7 Qatar91,551 57,171 172,591 152,210 137,603
8 Turkey162,65586,701 52,206 150,240 145,521 125,098
9 France123,444 60,180 48,809 150,870 143,904 136,659 139,217 134,528 136,405 135,821 133,035
10119,363 50,067 37,503 165,945 158,986 152,214 149,702 145,904 143,403 144,236 142,512 140,972
104,496 30,698 38,825 155,252 151,784 144,028 140,780 137,204 130,129 124,318 116,864
China102,078 109,309 110,650 213,573 200,239 177,458 205,720 189,186 166,074 147,841 135,021 121,944
63,849 10,157 86,199 85,663 120,029 110,203 108,051
61,288 88,677 88,728 186,644 166,282 150,916 138,042
60,355 67,745 71,417 169,030 161,199 146,961 135,464 112,247 -
Continental Airlines‡ United States—‡ 131,583
‡ - marks a defunct airline.

Scheduled freight tonne-kilometers (millions)

RankAirlineCountry2022[30] 2021[31] 20202019[32] 20182017201620152014[33] 2013[34] 2012[35]
1FedEx Express United States19,547 20,660 19,656 17,503 17,499 16,851 15,712 15,799 16,020 16,127 16,108
2UPS Airlines United States15,889 15,529 14,371 12,842 12,459 11,940 11,264 10,807 10,936 10,584 10,416
3Qatar Airways Cargo Qatar14,267 16,102 13,740 13,024 12,695 10,999 9,221 7,660 5,997 4,972
4Emirates SkyCargo United Arab Emirates10,153 11,842 9,569 12,052 12,713 12,715 12,270 12,157 11,240 10,459 9,319
5Korean Air Cargo9,518 10,429 8,104 7,412 7,839 8,015 7,666 7,761 8,079 7,666 8,144
6Atlas Air United States8,675 8,441 5,458 4,522 4,553
7Turkish Cargo Turkey8,318 9,223 6,977 7,029 5,890 4,728 3,640
8Cargolux Luxembourg7,971 8,587 7,345 7,180 7,322 7,322 6,878 6,309 5,753 5,225
9China Southern Airlines Cargo China6,915 8,078 6,591 6,825 6,597 6,174 5,939 5,355 4,736
10China Airlines Cargo6,359 7,513 6,317 5,334 5,804 5,741 5,273 5,343 5,266 4,813 4,538
Air China Cargo China6,077 7,016 6,121 6,767 7,051 6,701 6,089 5,718 4,910
Cathay Pacific Cargo Hong Kong5,774 8,215 8,137 10,930 11,284 10,772 9,947 9,935 9,464 8,241 8,433
Singapore Airlines Cargo Singapore5,193 5,462 4,156 6,146 6,491 6,592 6,345 6,083 6,019 6,240 6,694
Lufthansa Cargo Germany5,153 5,324 4,828 7,226 7,394 7,317 7,384 6,888 7,054 7,218 7,175

By fleet size

Aircraft operated

August 2024[36] ! Rank !! Airline !! Country !! !!
1American Airlines United States1558[37]
2United Airlines United States1444[38]
3Delta Air Lines1271[39]
4 Southwest Airlines United States818[40]
5China Southern Airlines659[41]
6China Eastern Airlines621[42]
7SkyWest Airlines United States581[43]
8Air China498[44]
9FedEx Express United States466[45]
10IndiGo391[46]
11Turkish Airlines357[47]
12Alaska Airlines United States327[48]
13Lufthansa Germany321[49]
14Ryanair Ireland310[50] -->

Aircraft owned

July 2023[51] ! Rank !! Holding company !! !! Value ($bn)
1 (tie) 16.7
1 (tie) 15.8
3 17.9
4 16.8
5 18.5
6 19.0
7 17.3
8 15.3
9 4.5
10 Lufthansa Group11.7

Aircraft capacity

2022[52] ! Rank! Airline! Country! Annual Capacity
1American Airlines248,299,958
2Delta Air Lines210,132,982
3Southwest Airlines208,191,620
4United Airlines177,513,595
5Ryanair169,559,280
6China Southern Airlines106,602,244
7China Eastern Airlines China101,138,367
8IndiGo India99,449,786
9Turkish Airlines Turkey89,471,060
10easyJet United Kingdom88,142,891

By route network

Countries served

February 2024
RankAirlineCountry
1Turkish Airlines130[53]
2Qatar Airways Qatar88[54]
=3Air France84[55]
=3 Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopia84[56]
5Emirates United Arab Emirates79[57]
6British Airways United Kingdom78[58]
7Lufthansa Germany77[59]
8United Airlines United States71[60]
964[61]
10American Airlines United States63[62]

Destinations served

See main article: List of airlines with more than 100 destinations.

February 2024! Rank! Airline! Country! !
1United Airlines United States357
2 United States352
3Turkish Airlines Turkey349[63]
4Delta Air Lines United States310[64]
5China Southern Airlines China238[65]
6Ryanair Ireland235[66]
7Lufthansa Germany226
8China Eastern Airlines China225[67]
9British Airways United Kingdom208
10Air France France202

Routes served

February 2024
RankAirline Country
1Southwest Airlines United States3,161[68]
2Ryanair Ireland2,631
3American Airlines United States1,237
4China Eastern Airlines China1,051
5United Airlines United States1,033
6Delta Air Lines United States975
7China Southern Airlines China963
8Air China China641[69]
9IndiGo India610[70]
10Turkish Airlines Turkey531[71]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The World's Largest Public Companies. Forbes.
  2. Web site: Airlines 50 2024 . Brand Finance . Brandirectory . 12 May 2024.
  3. Web site: Traffic table . 2020 . Flight Global.
  4. Web site: Traffic rankings . 2019 . Flight Global.
  5. Web site: World Airline Rankings . 2019 . Flight Global.
  6. Web site: World Airline Rankings . 2018 . Flight Global.
  7. Web site: World Airline Rankings . 2017 . Flight Global.
  8. News: Global Air Traffic & Top Airlines 2016 (IATA) . IMM International . 28 June 2016.
  9. Web site: Scheduled Passengers Carried . . World Air Transport Statistics 59th Edition . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150618070729/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx . June 18, 2015 .
  10. Web site: Scheduled Passengers Carried . . World Air Transport Statistics 58th Edition . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx . January 2, 2015 .
  11. Web site: Scheduled Passengers Carried . . World Air Transport Statistics 57th Edition . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131113175503/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx . November 13, 2013.
  12. Web site: Scheduled Passengers Carried . . World Air Transport Statistics 56th Edition . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121217084752/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx . December 17, 2012.
  13. 2023 World Airline Report: Airline Traffic Table . Air Transport World . 4 August 2023 . July/August 2023 . Aviation Week Network.
  14. Web site: Airline top 100 2022 . Airfinance Journal . 26 June 2023.
  15. Web site: Airlines, Airports and Airliners 2020 full year results . France Aviation Civile Services . 29 July 2023 . April 2021.
  16. Web site: Air Transport Yearly Monitor (2016) . International Civil Aviation Organization . 21 April 2023.
  17. Web site: Air Transport Yearly Monitor (2015) . International Civil Aviation Organization . 21 April 2023.
  18. Web site: Air Transport Yearly Monitor (2013) . International Civil Aviation Organization . 21 April 2023.
  19. Web site: Traffic table . Flight Global . 18 December 2023.
  20. Web site: Cirium Airline Passenger Rankings for 2021 . September 2022 . 2023-01-15 . 2023-05-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230524060929/https://resources.cirium.com/world-airline-passenger-rankings-report/ . dead .
  21. Web site: World Air Transport Statistics 2021 . 2021 . 2022-07-01 . 2022-05-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220524175408/https://www.iata.org/contentassets/a686ff624550453e8bf0c9b3f7f0ab26/wats-2021-mediakit.pdf . dead .
  22. Web site: World Air Transport Statistics . . 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201029073520/https://www.iata.org/contentassets/a686ff624550453e8bf0c9b3f7f0ab26/wats-2019-mediakit.pdf . 2020-10-29 . dead.
  23. Web site: 62nd World Air Transport Statistics . . 28 September 2022 . png.
  24. Web site: Summary of passenger and freight traffic . . World Air Transport Statistics . 2017 .
  25. Web site: Summary of passenger and freight traffic . . World Air Transport Statistics . 2016 . 2016-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160705112926/http://www.iata.org/docx/WATS_2016-infographic.pdf . 2016-07-05 . dead .
  26. Web site: Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown . World Air Transport Statistics 59th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150706105859/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-passenger-km.aspx . July 6, 2015 .
  27. Web site: Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown . World Air Transport Statistics 58th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141111021653/https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-km.aspx . November 11, 2014 .
  28. Web site: Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown . World Air Transport Statistics 57th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193010/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-km.aspx . October 29, 2013 .
  29. Web site: Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown . World Air Transport Statistics 56th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121216190536/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-passenger-km.aspx . December 16, 2012 .
  30. Web site: Top 25 Cargo Airlines 2022 . Air Cargo News . 19 September 2023 . 11 December 2023.
  31. url=https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/top-25-air-cargo-carriers-for-2021-revealed/
  32. Web site: Brett . Damian . Top 25 cargo airlines 2019: FedEx retains the top spot as Qatar climbs . Air Cargo News . 29 July 2020 . 18 December 2023.
  33. Web site: Scheduled Freight Tonne - Kilometres . World Air Transport Statistics 59th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150704191758/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-freight-km.aspx . July 4, 2015 .
  34. Web site: Scheduled Freight Tonne - Kilometres . World Air Transport Statistics 58th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141125001212/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-freight-km.aspx . November 25, 2014 .
  35. Web site: Scheduled Freight Tonne - Kilometres . World Air Transport Statistics 57th Edition . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063353/http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/wats-freight-km.aspx . September 21, 2013 .
  36. Web site: Country Index . Planespotters.net . 4 January 2024.
  37. Web site: American Airlines Fleet .
  38. Web site: United Airlines Fleet .
  39. Web site: Delta Air Lines Fleet .
  40. Web site: Southwest Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  41. Web site: China Southern Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  42. Web site: China Eastern Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  43. Web site: SkyWest Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  44. Web site: Air China Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  45. Web site: FedEx Express Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  46. Web site: IndiGo Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  47. Web site: Turkish Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  48. Web site: Alaska Airlines Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  49. Web site: Lufthansa Fleet . Planespotters.net.
  50. Web site: Ryanair Fleet. Planespotters.net.
  51. Airline top 100 2023 . Airfinance Journal . 73 .
  52. Web site: Grant . John . An Overview of Airline Capacity from 2019-2022 as the Travel Recovery Continues . OAG . 19 December 2022.
  53. Web site: Turkish Airlines Earnings Presentation 1Q 24. Turkish Airlines.
  54. Web site: Qatar Airways . ch-aviation.
  55. Web site: Air France . ch-aviation.
  56. Web site: Ethiopian Airlines . ch-aviation.
  57. Web site: Emirates . ch-aviation.
  58. Web site: British Airways . ch-aviation.
  59. Web site: Lufthansa . ch-aviation.
  60. Web site: United Airlines . ch-aviation.
  61. Web site: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines . ch-aviation.
  62. Web site: American Airlines . ch-aviation.
  63. Web site: Turkish Airlines begins Istanbul-Turin flights . Business Traveller.
  64. Web site: Delta Air Lines . ch-aviation.
  65. Web site: China Southern Airlines . ch-aviation.
  66. Web site: Ryanair . ch-aviation.
  67. Web site: China Eastern Airlines . ch-aviation.
  68. Web site: Southwest Airlines . ch-aviation.
  69. Web site: Air China . ch-aviation.
  70. Web site: IndiGo Airlines . ch-aviation.
  71. Web site: Turkish Airlines . ch-aviation.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Largest airlines in the world".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.