Largest airlines in the world

Last updated

The largest airlines in the world can be measured in several ways. As of 2024, United Airlines was the largest in terms of available seat miles (ASM), [1] revenue seat miles (RPM), [2] mainline fleet size, [3] the number of both mainline employees [4] and destinations served; [5] Delta Air Lines was the most valuable by revenue, assets, market capitalization, and brand value; [6] American Airlines Group carries the most passengers and has the most employees when American Eagle is included; FedEx Express carries the most freight in tonne-kilometers; Southwest Airlines has the greatest number of routes; and Turkish Airlines serves the most countries. [7]

Contents

Financials

Delta Air Lines ranks first by revenue, total assets, market capitalization and brand value. N501DN@PEK (20180324151921).jpg
Delta Air Lines ranks first by revenue, total assets, market capitalization and brand value.
United Airlines ranks first in ASM, RPM, fleet size and number of both destinations and employees. N24976@PEK (20200421150836).jpg
United Airlines ranks first in ASM, RPM, fleet size and number of both destinations and employees.
American Airlines Group ranks first by number of passengers carried. N822AN American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner s-n 40642 (37914578311).jpg
American Airlines Group ranks first by number of passengers carried.
2024 RankAirline GroupCountryRevenueNet IncomeAssetsMarket
Cap
Employees
(US$ billions)
1 Steady2.svg Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 61.63.575.339103,000 [8]
2 Steady2.svg United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 57.13.174.132107,300 [4]
3 Steady2.svg American Airlines Group Flag of the United States.svg United States 54.21.368.811133,300 [9]
4 Steady2.svg Lufthansa Group Flag of Germany.svg Germany 40.41.551.1998,739
5 Steady2.svg Air France–KLM Flag of France.svg France/Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 36.20.6937.52.476,566 [10]
6 Steady2.svg International Airlines Group Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/Flag of Spain.svg Spain 34.22.941.62171,794
7 Steady2.svg Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 27.50.4733.81772,450 [11]
8 Green Arrow Up Darker.svg China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 24.5–0.5943.71397,899
9 Green Arrow Up Darker.svg Air China Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 23.01.622.01787,190
10 Red Arrow Down.svg Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 22.56.835.61257,991

Note that Emirates is a state-owned company, and is thus not included in this list of public companies. Its 2024 revenue was estimated to be around $37.4B or 5th place. Qatar Airways Group is similarly privately held with its 2024 revenue of around $22.2B or 10th place (with Emirates included).

Brand value

2025 Rank [12] AirlineCountry$bnYear-to-year
change
1 Steady2.svg Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 14.9
2 Green Arrow Up Darker.svg United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 12.3
3 Red Arrow Down.svg American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 11.7
4 Steady2.svg Emirates Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 8.4
5 Steady2.svg Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 6.3
6 Steady2.svg British Airways Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 4.6
7 Green Arrow Up Darker.svg China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 4.1
8 Red Arrow Down.svg Qatar Airways Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 3.9
9 Red Arrow Down.svg Air Canada Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 3.2
10 Green Arrow Up Darker.svg China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 3.2

Capacity

Airlines by available seat miles (ASMs)

Numbers are listed in billions of ASMs.

RankAirlineCountry202420232022202120202019Ref
1 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 311291248179123285 [4]
2 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 293278260215143285 [13]
3 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 288272233194134275 [8]
4 Emirates Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 2222301779940228 [14]
5 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 178170148132103157 [15]
6 Qatar Airways Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 15915713110058149 [16]
7 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 1591521389130118 [17]
8 China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 15119796133134214 [18]
9 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 1451461248047117 [19]
10 China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1381146010095168 [20]

Airline groups by available seat kilometers (ASKs)

Numbers are listed in billions of ASKs.

RankAirline GroupCountry2022202120202019
1 American Airlines Group Flag of the United States.svg United States 347259147388
2 United Airlines Holdings Flag of the United States.svg United States 332207118385
3 Delta Air Lines Group Flag of the United States.svg United States 314216118382
4 Air France–KLM Flag of France.svg France/Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 23711681275
5 Emirates Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 22593
#11
78298
6 International Airlines Group Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/Flag of Spain.svg Spain 21578
#15
72285
7 Lufthansa Group Flag of Germany.svg Germany 20789
#13
69296
8 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 19916687211
#11
9 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 16286
#14
153
#15
10 Qatar Airways Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 154172
#13
Sources [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Airline groups by passengers (millions)

RankAirline GroupCountry202320222021202020192018
1 American Airlines Group Flag of the United States.svg United States 21119912495215203
2 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 19017512380204192
3 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 1821689752148142
4 United Airlines Holdings Flag of the United States.svg United States 1651447357162158
5 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 13715712367162163
6 Lufthansa Group Flag of Germany.svg Germany 1231012436145142
7 Air France–KLM Flag of France.svg France/Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 1188328
#14
85
#12
8 International Airlines Group Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/Flag of Spain.svg Spain 1159531
#12
118112
9 IndiGo Flag of India.svg India 105754835
#11
61
#16
10 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 83724528
#17=
75
#14
Sources [21] [26] [24] [27] [28]

Freight (millions of CTK)

FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers. N885FD B777F Fedex (7001569004).jpg
FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers.
Rank [29] AirlineCountry202320222021202020192018
1 FedEx Express Flag of the United States.svg United States 17,92319,54720,66019,65617,50317,499
2 Qatar Airways Cargo Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 14,40614,26716,10213,74013,02412,695
3 UPS Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 14,23915,88915,52914,37112,84212,459
4 Emirates SkyCargo Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 10,63610,15311,8429,56912,05212,713
5 Atlas Air Flag of the United States.svg United States 8,9158,6758,4415,458 #124,522 #164,553 #16
6 Korean Air Cargo Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 8,4119,51810,4298,1047,4127,839
7 Turkish Cargo Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 8,3258,3189,2236,9777,0295,890
8 Cathay Cargo Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong 8,0995,774 #138,2158,13710,93011,284
9 China Southern Airlines Cargo Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 7,6106,9158,0786,5916,8256,597
10 Cargolux Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg 6,8077,9718,5877,3457,1807,322

Fleet size

Aircraft operated (June 2025)

United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of June 2025. United Boeing 757-200 N58101 on final approach to Boston March 2025.jpg
United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of June 2025.
RankAirlineCountryNo.Ref.
1 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,043 [30]
2 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 998 [8]
3 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 990 [31]
4 China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 850 [32]
5 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 810 [15]
6 China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 800 [33]
7 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 624 [34]
8 SkyWest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 579 [ citation needed ]
9 Air China Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 500 [35]
10 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 493 [36]


    Aircraft owned (January 2025)

    China National Aviation Holdings Air China Group has the world's most valuable fleet, despite owning fewer aircraft than Delta Air Lines, Inc. or American Airlines Group, which co-lead by numbers. Air China Boeing 747-800 B-2482 p aft delta 717 YDSC 1672 (29481934346).jpg
    China National Aviation Holdings Air China Group has the world's most valuable fleet, despite owning fewer aircraft than Delta Air Lines, Inc. or American Airlines Group, which co-lead by numbers.
    RankHolding companyNo.Value ($bn)
    1 United Airlines Holdings 1,026 Increase2.svg17.9 Increase2.svg
    2 Delta Air Lines, Inc. 1,007 Increase2.svg15.8 Increase2.svg
    3 Air China Group 907 Increase2.svg19.0 Increase2.svg
    4 American Airlines Group 746 Increase2.svg16.7 Increase2.svg
    5 Lufthansa Group 721 Increase2.svg11.7 Increase2.svg
    6 Southwest Airlines 697 Decrease2.svg15.9 Decrease2.svg
    7 China Southern Airlines 663 Increase2.svg17.3 Increase2.svg
    8 China Eastern Airlines 652 Increase2.svg18.5 Increase2.svg
    9 Ryanair Holdings 607 Increase2.svg15.3 Increase2.svg
    10 Air France-KLM Group 572 Increase2.svg10.7 Increase2.svg
    11 IAG 570 Increase2.svg10.4 Increase2.svg
    12 SkyWest, Inc. 520 Increase2.svg4.5 Increase2.svg

    Network

    Destinations served (August 2025)

    United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024. United Boeing 777-300ER N2352U IAD VA1.jpg
    United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024.
    RankAirlineCountryNo.
    1 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 387 [37]
    2 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 356
    3 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 311
    4 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 292
    5 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 239
    6 China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 235
    7 China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 224
    8 Lufthansa Flag of Germany.svg Germany 214
    9 British Airways Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 213
    10 Air France Flag of France.svg France 196

    Countries served (June 2025)

    Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries, as of June 2025. VT-JEM@LHR 16SEP13 (9775923834).jpg
    Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries, as of June 2025.
    RankAirlineCountryNo.Ref.
    1 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 124 [38]
    2 Qatar Airways Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 92 [39]
    3 Ethiopian Airlines Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia 87 [40]
    4 Air France Flag of France.svg France 86 [41]
    5 Emirates Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 80 [42]
    =6 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 77 [43]
    =6 British Airways Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 77 [44]
    8 Lufthansa Flag of Germany.svg Germany 75 [45]
    9 KLM Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 66 [46]
    10 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 61 [47]

    Flights daily (March 2025)

    Rank [48] AirlineCountryNo.
    1 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 5,946
    2 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 4,343
    3 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 4,167
    4 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 3,592
    5 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 2,584
    6 China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2,506
    7 IndiGo Flag of India.svg India 2,244
    8 China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2,125
    9 Air China Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1,659
    10 easyJet Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1,298

      Routes served (August 2025)

      Southwest Airlines serves the largest number of routes, as of February 2024. Southwest Boeing 737-800 N8610A BWI MD1.jpg
      Southwest Airlines serves the largest number of routes, as of February 2024.
      RankAirlineCountryNo.Ref.
      1 Southwest Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 2,898 [49]
      2 Ryanair Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 2,596 [50]
      3 American Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,250 [51]
      4 United Airlines Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,185 [37]
      5 Delta Air Lines Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,128 [52]
      6 China Eastern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1,047 [53]
      7 China Southern Airlines Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 841 [54]
      8 Air China Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 646 [55]
      9 IndiGo Flag of India.svg India 610
      10 Turkish Airlines Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 368 [56]

      See also

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