The largest airlines in the world can be measured in several ways. As of 2024 [update] , United Airlines was the largest in terms of available seat miles (ASM), [1] revenue seat miles (RPM), [2] mainline fleet size, [3] and 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]
Rank | Airline Group | Country | Revenue | Net Income | Assets | Market Cap | Employees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(US$ billions) | |||||||
1 ![]() | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 61.6 | 3.5 | 75.3 | 39 | 103,000 [8] |
2 ![]() | United Airlines Holdings | ![]() | 57.1 | 3.1 | 74.1 | 32 | 107,300 [9] |
3 ![]() | American Airlines Group | ![]() | 54.2 | 1.3 | 68.8 | 11 | 133,300 [10] |
4 ![]() | Lufthansa Group | ![]() | 40.4 | 1.5 | 51.1 | 9 | 98,739 |
5 ![]() | International Airlines Group | ![]() ![]() | 34.2 | 2.9 | 41.6 | 21 | 71,794 |
6 ![]() | Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() | 33.9 | 0.69 | 37.5 | 2.4 | 76,566 |
7 ![]() | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 27.5 | 0.47 | 33.8 | 17 | 72,450 [11] |
8 ![]() | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 24.5 | –0.59 | 43.7 | 13 | 97,899 |
9 ![]() | Air China | ![]() | 23.0 | 1.6 | 22.0 | 17 | 87,190 |
10 ![]() | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 22.5 | 6.8 | 35.6 | 12 | 57,991 |
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).
Rank | Airline | Country | $bn | Year-to-year change |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 ![]() | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 10.771 | +20.7% |
2 ![]() | American Airlines | ![]() | 10.242 | +20.7% |
3 ![]() | United Airlines | ![]() | 8.676 | +11.5% |
4 ![]() | Emirates | ![]() | 6.610 | +29.5% |
5 ![]() | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 5.394 | +14.7% |
6 ![]() | British Airways | ![]() | 3.175 | +45.2% |
7 ![]() | Qatar Airways | ![]() | 3.138 | +27.0% |
8 ![]() | Air Canada | ![]() | 2.805 | +8.6% |
9 ![]() | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 2.767 | −14.3% |
10 ![]() | Ryanair | ![]() | 2.541 | +7.1% |
Rank | Airline | Country | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | ![]() | 311 | 291 | 248 | 179 | 123 | 285 | [14] |
2 | American Airlines | ![]() | 293 | 278 | 260 | 215 | 143 | 285 | [15] |
3 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 288 | 272 | 233 | 194 | 134 | 275 | [16] |
4 | Emirates | ![]() | 222 | 230 | 177 | 99 | 40 | 228 | [17] |
5 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 178 | 170 | 148 | 132 | 103 | 157 | [18] |
6 | Qatar Airways | ![]() | 159 | 157 | 131 | 100 | 58 | 149 | [19] |
7 | Ryanair | ![]() | 159 | 152 | 138 | 91 | 30 | 118 | [20] |
8 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 151 | 197 | 96 | 133 | 134 | 214 | [21] |
9 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 145 | 146 | 124 | 80 | 47 | 117 | [22] |
10 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 138 | 114 | 60 | 100 | 95 | 168 | [23] |
Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | ![]() | 347 | 259 | 147 | 388 |
2 | United Airlines Holdings | ![]() | 332 | 207 | 118 | 385 |
3 | Delta Air Lines Group | ![]() | 314 | 216 | 118 | 382 |
4 | Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() | 237 | 116 | 81 | 275 |
5 | Emirates | ![]() | 225 | 93 #11 | 78 | 298 |
6 | International Airlines Group | ![]() ![]() | 215 | 78 #15 | 72 | 285 |
7 | Lufthansa Group | ![]() | 207 | 89 #13 | 69 | 296 |
8 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 199 | 166 | 87 | 211 #11 |
9 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 162 | 86 #14 | 153 #15 | |
10 | Qatar Airways | ![]() | 154 | 172 #13 | ||
Sources | [24] | [25] [26] | [27] | [28] |
Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | ![]() | 211 | 199 | 124 | 95 | 215 | 203 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 190 | 175 | 123 | 80 | 204 | 192 |
3 | Ryanair | ![]() | 182 | 168 | 97 | 52 | 148 | 142 |
4 | United Airlines Holdings | ![]() | 165 | 144 | 73 | 57 | 162 | 158 |
5 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 137 | 157 | 123 | 67 | 162 | 163 |
6 | Lufthansa Group | ![]() | 123 | 101 | 24 | 36 | 145 | 142 |
7 | IAG | ![]() ![]() | 115 | 95 | 31 #12 | 118 | 112 | |
8 | IndiGo | ![]() | 105 | 75 | 48 | 35 #11 | 61 #16 | |
9 | Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() | 94 | 83 | 28 #14 | 85 #12 | ||
10 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 83 | 72 | 45 | 28 #17= | 75 #14 | |
Sources | [29] | [24] | [30] | [27] | [31] | [32] |
Rank | Airline | Country | Annual capacity |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | ![]() | 250 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 230 |
3 | United Airlines | ![]() | 214 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 208 |
5 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 180 |
6 | Ryanair | ![]() | 170 |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 162 |
8 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 130 |
9 | easyJet | ![]() | 127 |
10 | Emirates | ![]() | 100 |
Rank | Airline | Country | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FedEx Express | ![]() | 17,923 | 19,547 | 20,660 | 19,656 | 17,503 | 17,499 |
2 | Qatar Airways Cargo | ![]() | 14,406 | 14,267 | 16,102 | 13,740 | 13,024 | 12,695 |
3 | UPS Airlines | ![]() | 14,239 | 15,889 | 15,529 | 14,371 | 12,842 | 12,459 |
4 | Emirates SkyCargo | ![]() | 10,636 | 10,153 | 11,842 | 9,569 | 12,052 | 12,713 |
5 | Atlas Air | ![]() | 8,915 | 8,675 | 8,441 | 5,458 #12 | 4,522 #16 | 4,553 #16 |
6 | Korean Air Cargo | ![]() | 8,411 | 9,518 | 10,429 | 8,104 | 7,412 | 7,839 |
7 | Turkish Cargo | ![]() | 8,325 | 8,318 | 9,223 | 6,977 | 7,029 | 5,890 |
8 | Cathay Pacific Cargo | ![]() | 8,099 | 5,774 #13 | 8,215 | 8,137 | 10,930 | 11,284 |
9 | China Southern Airlines Cargo | ![]() | 7,610 | 6,915 | 8,078 | 6,591 | 6,825 | 6,597 |
10 | Cargolux | ![]() | 6,807 | 7,971 | 8,587 | 7,345 | 7,180 | 7,322 |
Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | ![]() | 1009 | [35] |
2 | American Airlines | ![]() | 981 | [36] |
3 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 978 | [37] |
4 | Air China | ![]() | 907 | [ citation needed ] |
5 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 797 | [38] |
6 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 653 | [ citation needed ] |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 652 | [ citation needed ] |
8 | SkyWest Airlines | ![]() | 624 | [39] |
9 | Ryanair | ![]() | 607 | [ citation needed ] |
10 | Lufthansa | ![]() | 514 | [ citation needed ] |
Rank | Holding company | No. | Value ($bn) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines Holdings | 1,007 ![]() | 17.9 ![]() |
2 | Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 987 ![]() | 15.8 ![]() |
3 | Air China Group | 907 ![]() | 19.0 ![]() |
4 | American Airlines Group | 854 ![]() | 16.7 ![]() |
5 | Southwest Airlines | 830 ![]() | 16.8 ![]() |
6 | Lufthansa Group | 721 ![]() | 11.7 ![]() |
7 | China Southern Airlines | 663 ![]() | 17.3 ![]() |
8 | China Eastern Airlines | 652 ![]() | 18.5 ![]() |
9 | Ryanair Holdings | 607 ![]() | 15.3 ![]() |
10 | Air France-KLM Group | 572 ![]() | 10.7 ![]() |
11 | IAG | 570 ![]() | 10.4 ![]() |
12 | SkyWest, Inc. | 520 ![]() | 4.5 ![]() |
Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 122 | [40] |
2 | Qatar Airways | ![]() | 88 | [41] |
3 | Ethiopian Airlines | ![]() | 86 | [42] |
4 | Air France | ![]() | 84 | [43] |
5 | Emirates | ![]() | 80 | [44] |
=6 | British Airways | ![]() | 76 | [45] |
=6 | Lufthansa | ![]() | 76 | [46] |
8 | United Airlines | ![]() | 75 | [47] |
9 | KLM | ![]() | 64 | [48] |
10 | American Airlines | ![]() | 61 | [49] |
Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | ![]() | 374 |
2 | American Airlines | ![]() | 355 |
3 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 311 |
4 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 287 |
5 | Ryanair | ![]() | 239 |
6 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 238 |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 224 |
8 | Lufthansa | ![]() | 216 |
8 | British Airways | ![]() | 216 |
10 | Air France | ![]() | 197 |
Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 3,161 | [51] |
2 | Ryanair | ![]() | 2,631 | [52] |
3 | American Airlines | ![]() | 1,237 | [49] |
4 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 1,051 | |
5 | United Airlines | ![]() | 1,033 | |
6 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 975 | |
7 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 963 | |
8 | Air China | ![]() | 641 | |
9 | IndiGo | ![]() | 610 | |
10 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() | 531 |
Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | ![]() | 4,753 |
2 | United Airlines | ![]() | 4,101 |
3 | Ryanair | ![]() | 3,292 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() | 3,274 |
5 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() | 2,872 |
6 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() | 2,387 |
7 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() | 2,268 |
8 | IndiGo | ![]() | 2,074 |
9 | Air China | ![]() | 1,681 |
10 | easyJet | ![]() | 1,338 |