The largest airline 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), revenue seat miles (RPM), mainline fleet size, the number of both mainline employees and destinations served; Delta Air Lines was the most valuable by revenue, assets, market capitalization, and brand value; 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.
Financials
| 2024 Rank | Airline Group | Country | Revenue | Net Income | Assets | Market Cap | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (US$ billions) | |||||||
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 61.6 | 3.5 | 75.3 | 39 | 103,000 |
| 2 | United Airlines | United States | 57.1 | 3.1 | 74.1 | 32 | 107,300 |
| 3 | American Airlines Group | United States | 54.2 | 1.3 | 68.8 | 11 | 133,300 |
| 4 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 40.4 | 1.5 | 51.1 | 9 | 98,739 |
| 5 | Air France–KLM | France/ Netherlands | 36.2 | 0.69 | 37.5 | 2.4 | 76,566 |
| 6 | International Airlines Group | United Kingdom/ Spain | 34.2 | 2.9 | 41.6 | 21 | 71,794 |
| 7 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 27.5 | 0.47 | 33.8 | 17 | 72,450 |
| 8 | China Southern Airlines | China | 24.5 | –0.59 | 43.7 | 13 | 97,899 |
| 9 | Air China | China | 23.0 | 1.6 | 22.0 | 17 | 87,190 |
| 10 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 22.7 | 2.4 | 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).
Brand value
| 2025 Rank | Airline | Country | $bn | Year-to-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 14.9 | +38.3% |
| 2 | United Airlines | United States | 12.3 | +41.8% |
| 3 | American Airlines | United States | 11.7 | +14.2% |
| 4 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 8.4 | +27.1% |
| 5 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 6.3 | +16.8% |
| 6 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 4.6 | +44.9% |
| 7 | China Southern Airlines | China | 4.1 | +48.2% |
| 8 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 3.9 | +24.3% |
| 9 | Air Canada | Canada | 3.2 | +14.1% |
| 10 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 3.2 | +26.0% |
Capacity
Airlines by available seat miles (ASMs)
Numbers are listed in billions of available seat miles.
| Rank | Airline | Country | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines | United States | 311 | 291 | 248 | 179 | 123 | 285 | |
| 2 | American Airlines | United States | 293 | 278 | 260 | 215 | 143 | 285 | |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 288 | 272 | 233 | 194 | 134 | 275 | |
| 4 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 222 | 230 | 177 | 99 | 40 | 228 | |
| 5 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 178 | 170 | 148 | 132 | 103 | 157 | |
| 6 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 159 | 157 | 131 | 100 | 58 | 149 | |
| 7 | Ryanair | Ireland | 159 | 152 | 138 | 91 | 30 | 118 | |
| 8 | China Southern Airlines | China | 151 | 197 | 96 | 133 | 134 | 214 | |
| 9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 145 | 146 | 124 | 80 | 47 | 117 | |
| 10 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 138 | 114 | 60 | 100 | 95 | 168 |
Airline groups by available seat kilometers (ASKs)
Numbers are listed in billions of ASKs.
| Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines Group | United States | 347 | 259 | 147 | 388 |
| 2 | United Airlines Holdings | United States | 332 | 207 | 118 | 385 |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines Group | United States | 314 | 216 | 118 | 382 |
| 4 | Air France–KLM | France/ Netherlands | 237 | 116 | 81 | 275 |
| 5 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 225 | 93 #11 | 78 | 298 |
| 6 | International Airlines Group | United Kingdom/ Spain | 215 | 78 #15 | 72 | 285 |
| 7 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 207 | 89 #13 | 69 | 296 |
| 8 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 199 | 166 | 87 | 211 #11 |
| 9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 162 | 86 #14 | 153 #15 | |
| 10 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 154 | 172 #13 | ||
| Sources | ||||||
Airline groups by passengers (millions)
| Rank | Airline Group | Country | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines Group | United States | 225 | 211 | 199 | 124 | 95 | 215 | 203 |
| 2 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 200 | 190 | 175 | 123 | 80 | 204 | 192 |
| 3 | Ryanair | Ireland | 183.7 | 182 | 168 | 97 | 52 | 148 | 142 |
| 4 | United Airlines Holdings | United States | 174 | 165 | 144 | 73 | 57 | 162 | 158 |
| 5 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 140 | 137 | 157 | 123 | 67 | 162 | 163 |
| 6 | Lufthansa Group | Germany | 131 | 123 | 101 | 24 | 36 | 145 | 142 |
| 7 | International Airlines Group | United Kingdom/ Spain | 122 | 115 | 95 | 31 #12 | 118 | 112 | |
| 8 | IndiGo | India | 118.6 | 105 | 75 | 48 | 35 #11 | 61 #16 | |
| 9 | Air France–KLM | France/ Netherlands | 98 | 118 | 83 | 28 #14 | 85 #12 | ||
| 10 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 83.4 | 83 | 72 | 45 | 28 #17= | 75 #14 | |
| Sources | |||||||||
Freight (millions of CTK)
| Rank | Airline | Country | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FedEx Express | United States | 18,133 | 17,923 | 19,547 | 20,660 | 19,656 | 17,503 | 17,499 |
| 2 | Qatar Airways Cargo | Qatar | 15,211 | 14,406 | 14,267 | 16,102 | 13,740 | 13,024 | 12,695 |
| 3 | UPS Airlines | United States | 15,094 | 14,239 | 15,889 | 15,529 | 14,371 | 12,842 | 12,459 |
| 4 | Emirates SkyCargo | United Arab Emirates | 12,354 | 10,636 | 10,153 | 11,842 | 9,569 | 12,052 | 12,713 |
| 5 | Atlas Air | United States | 11,942 | 8,915 | 8,675 | 8,441 | 5,458 #12 | 4,522 #16 | 4,553 #16 |
| 6 | Turkish Cargo | Turkey | 10,240 | 8,325 | 8,318 | 9,223 | 6,977 | 7,029 | 5,890 |
| 7 | Korean Air Cargo | South Korea | 8,728 | 8,411 | 9,518 | 10,429 | 8,104 | 7,412 | 7,839 |
| 8 | China Southern Airlines Cargo | China | 8,653 | 7,610 | 6,915 | 8,078 | 6,591 | 6,825 | 6,597 |
| 9 | Cathay Cargo | Hong Kong | 8,503 | 8,099 | 5,774 #13 | 8,215 | 8,137 | 10,930 | 11,284 |
| 10 | Cargolux | Luxembourg | 8,263 | 6,807 | 7,971 | 8,587 | 7,345 | 7,180 | 7,322 |
Fleet size
Aircraft operated (September 2025)
| Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines | United States | 1,056 | |
| 2 | American Airlines | United States | 1,005 | |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 992 | |
| 4 | China Southern Airlines | China | 850 | |
| 5 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 810 | |
| 6 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 664 | |
| 7 | Ryanair | Ireland | 639 | |
| 8 | SkyWest Airlines | United States | 579 | |
| 9 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 511 | |
| 10 | Air China | China | 510 |
Aircraft owned (January 2025)
| Rank | Holding company | No. | Value ($bn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines Holdings | 1,026 | 17.9 |
| 2 | Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 1,007 | 15.8 |
| 3 | Air China Group | 907 | 19.0 |
| 4 | American Airlines Group | 746 | 16.7 |
| 5 | Lufthansa Group | 721 | 11.7 |
| 6 | Southwest Airlines | 697 | 15.9 |
| 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 |
Network
Destinations served (August 2025)
| Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines | United States | 387 |
| 2 | American Airlines | United States | 356 |
| 3 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 352 |
| 4 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 311 |
| 5 | Ryanair | Ireland | 239 |
| 6 | China Southern Airlines | China | 235 |
| 7 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 224 |
| 8 | Lufthansa | Germany | 214 |
| 9 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 213 |
| 10 | Air France | France | 196 |
Countries served (June 2025)
| Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 131 | |
| 2 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 92 | |
| 3 | Ethiopian Airlines | Ethiopia | 87 | |
| 4 | Air France | France | 86 | |
| 5 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 80 | |
| 6 | British Airways | United Kingdom | 77 | |
| 7 | United Airlines | United States | 76 | |
| 8 | Lufthansa | Germany | 75 | |
| 9 | KLM | Netherlands | 66 | |
| 10 | American Airlines | United States | 61 |
Flights daily (March 2025)
| Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines | United States | 5,946 |
| 2 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 4,343 |
| 3 | United Airlines | United States | 4,167 |
| 4 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 3,592 |
| 5 | Ryanair | Ireland | 2,584 |
| 6 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 2,506 |
| 7 | IndiGo | India | 2,244 |
| 8 | China Southern Airlines | China | 2,125 |
| 9 | Air China | China | 1,659 |
| 10 | easyJet | United Kingdom | 1,298 |
Routes served (August 2025)
| Rank | Airline | Country | No. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest Airlines | United States | 2,898 | |
| 2 | Ryanair | Ireland | 2,596 | |
| 3 | American Airlines | United States | 1,250 | |
| 4 | United Airlines | United States | 1,185 | |
| 5 | Delta Air Lines | United States | 1,128 | |
| 6 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 1,047 | |
| 7 | China Southern Airlines | China | 841 | |
| 8 | Air China | China | 646 | |
| 9 | IndiGo | India | 610 | |
| 10 | Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 368 |
See also
- 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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