Largest airlines in the world

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Template:Short description The largest airline in the world can be measured in several ways. since 2024Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., 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]

Financials

File:N501DN@PEK (20180324151921).jpg
Delta Air Lines ranks first by revenue, net income, total assets, market capitalization and brand value.
File:N24976@PEK (20200421150836).jpg
United Airlines ranks first in ASM, RPM, fleet size and number of both destinations and employees.
File:N822AN American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner s-n 40642 (37914578311).jpg
American Airlines Group ranks first by number of passengers carried.
2024 Rank Airline Group Country Revenue Net Income Assets Market
Cap 		Employees
(US$ billions)
1 Template:Same Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 61.6 3.5 75.3 39 103,000[8]
2 Template:Same United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 57.1 3.1 74.1 32 107,300[4]
3 Template:Same American Airlines Group File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 54.2 1.3 68.8 11 133,300[9]
4 Template:Same Lufthansa Group File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 40.4 1.5 51.1 9 98,739
5 Template:Same Air France–KLM File:Flag of France.svg France/File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 36.2 0.69 37.5 2.4 76,566[10]
6 Template:Same International Airlines Group File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 34.2 2.9 41.6 21 71,794
7 Template:Same Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 27.5 0.47 33.8 17 72,450[11]
8 Template:Rise China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 24.5 Script error: No such module "sort". 43.7 13 97,899
9 Template:Rise Air China File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 23.0 1.6 22.0 17 87,190
10 Template:Fall Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 22.7 2.4 35.6 12 57,991 [12]

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[13] Airline Country $bn Year-to-year
change
1 Template:Same Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 14.9 Template:Change
2 Template:Rise United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 12.3 Template:Change
3 Template:Fall American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 11.7 Template:Change
4 Template:Same Emirates File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 8.4 Template:Change
5 Template:Same Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 6.3 Template:Change
6 Template:Same British Airways File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 4.6 Template:Change
7 Template:Rise China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 4.1 Template:Change
8 Template:Fall Qatar Airways File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 3.9 Template:Change
9 Template:Fall Air Canada File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 3.2 Template:Change
10 Template:Same China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 3.2 Template:Change

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 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 311 291 248 179 123 285 [4]
2 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 293 278 260 215 143 285 [14]
3 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 288 272 233 194 134 275 [8]
4 Emirates File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 222 230 177 99 40 228 [15]
5 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 178 170 148 132 103 157 [16]
6 Qatar Airways File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 159 157 131 100 58 149 [17]
7 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 159 152 138 91 30 118 [18]
8 China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 151 197 96 133 134 214 [19]
9 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 145 146 124 80 47 117 [20]
10 China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 138 114 60 100 95 168 [21]

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 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 347 259 147 388
2 United Airlines Holdings File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 332 207 118 385
3 Delta Air Lines Group File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 314 216 118 382
4 Air France–KLM File:Flag of France.svg France/File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 237 116 81 275
5 Emirates File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 225 93
#11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 78 298
6 International Airlines Group File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 215 78
#15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 72 285
7 Lufthansa Group File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 207 89
#13Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 69 296
8 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 199 166 87 211
#11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
9 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 162 86
#14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 153
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10 Qatar Airways File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 154 172
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Sources [22] [23][24] [25] [26]

Airline groups by passengers (millions)

Rank Airline Group Country 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
1 American Airlines Group File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 225 211 199 124 95 215 203
2 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 200 190 175 123 80 204 192
3 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 183.7 182 168 97 52 148 142
4 United Airlines Holdings File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 174 165 144 73 57 162 158
5 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 140 137 157 123 67 162 163
6 Lufthansa Group File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 131 123 101 24 36 145 142
7 International Airlines Group File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom/File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 122 115 95 31
#12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 118 112
8 IndiGo File:Flag of India.svg India 118.6 105 75 48 35
#11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 61
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9 Air France–KLM File:Flag of France.svg France/File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 98 118 83 28
#14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		 85
#12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
10 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 83.4 83 72 45 28
#17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".=		 75
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Sources [22] [27] [25] [28] [29]

Freight (millions of CTK)

Template:Broader

File:N885FD B777F Fedex (7001569004).jpg
FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers.
Rank[30] Airline Country 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
1 FedEx Express File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 18,133 17,923 19,547 20,660 19,656 17,503 17,499
2 Qatar Airways Cargo File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 15,211 14,406 14,267 16,102 13,740 13,024 12,695
3 UPS Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 15,094 14,239 15,889 15,529 14,371 12,842 12,459
4 Emirates SkyCargo File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 12,354 10,636 10,153 11,842 9,569 12,052 12,713
5 Atlas Air File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 11,942 8,915 8,675 8,441 5,458 #12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 4,522 #16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 4,553 #16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
6 Turkish Cargo File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 10,240 8,325 8,318 9,223 6,977 7,029 5,890
7 Korean Air Cargo File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 8,728 8,411 9,518 10,429 8,104 7,412 7,839
8 China Southern Airlines Cargo File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 8,653 7,610 6,915 8,078 6,591 6,825 6,597
9 Cathay Cargo File:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong 8,503 8,099 5,774 #13Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 8,215 8,137 10,930 11,284
10 Cargolux File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg 8,263 6,807 7,971 8,587 7,345 7,180 7,322

Fleet size

Aircraft operated (September 2025)

File:United Boeing 757-200 N58101 on final approach to Boston March 2025.jpg
United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of September 2025.
Rank Airline Country No. Template:Refh
1 United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,056 [31]
2 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,005 [8]
3 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 992 [32]
4 China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 850 [33]
5 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 810 [16]
6 China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 664 [34]
7 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 639 [35]
8 SkyWest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 579 [36]
9 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 511 [37]
10 Air China File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 510 [38]

Template:Notelist


Aircraft owned (January 2025)

File:Air China Boeing 747-800 B-2482 p aft delta 717 YDSC 1672 (29481934346).jpg
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.
Rank Holding company No. Value ($bn)
1 United Airlines Holdings 1,026 #700 17.9 Template:Up
2 Delta Air Lines, Inc. 1,007 #682 15.8 Template:Up
3 Air China Group 907 #352 19.0 Template:Up
4 American Airlines Group 746 #595 16.7 Template:Up
5 Lufthansa Group 721 #268 11.7 Template:Up
6 Southwest Airlines 697 Template:Down 15.9 Template:Down
7 China Southern Airlines 663 #447 17.3 Template:Up
8 China Eastern Airlines 652 #501 18.5 Template:Up
9 Ryanair Holdings 607 #417 15.3 Template:Up
10 Air France-KLM Group 572 #227 10.7 Template:Up
11 IAG 570 #284 10.4 Template:Up
12 SkyWest, Inc. 520 #511 4.5 Template:Up

Network

Destinations served (August 2025)

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File:United Boeing 777-300ER N2352U IAD VA1.jpg
United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024.
Rank Airline Country No.
1 United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 387[39]
2 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 356
3 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 352
4 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 311
5 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 239
6 China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 235
7 China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 224
8 Lufthansa File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 214
9 British Airways File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 213
10 Air France File:Flag of France.svg France 196

Countries served (June 2025)

File:VT-JEM@LHR 16SEP13 (9775923834).jpg
Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries, as of June 2025.

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Rank Airline Country No. Template:Refh
1 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 131 [40]
2 Qatar Airways File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 92 [41]
3 Ethiopian Airlines File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia 87 [42]
4 Air France File:Flag of France.svg France 86 [43]
5 Emirates File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 80 [44]
6 British Airways File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 77 [45]
7 United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 76 [46]
8 Lufthansa File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 75 [47]
9 KLM File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 66 [48]
10 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 61 [49]

Flights daily (March 2025)

Rank[50] Airline Country No.
1 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 5,946
2 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 4,343
3 United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 4,167
4 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 3,592
5 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 2,584
6 China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2,506
7 IndiGo File:Flag of India.svg India 2,244
8 China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2,125
9 Air China File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1,659
10 easyJet File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1,298

Template:NoteFoot

Routes served (August 2025)

File:Southwest Boeing 737-800 N8610A BWI MD1.jpg
Southwest Airlines serves the largest number of routes, as of February 2024.
Rank Airline Country No. Template:Refh
1 Southwest Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 2,898 [51]
2 Ryanair File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 2,596 [52]
3 American Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,250 [53]
4 United Airlines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,185 [39]
5 Delta Air Lines File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 1,128 [54]
6 China Eastern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1,047 [55]
7 China Southern Airlines File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 841 [56]
8 Air China File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 646 [57]
9 IndiGo File:Flag of India.svg India 610
10 Turkish Airlines File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 368 [58]

See also

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References

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  32. ↑ https://americanairlines.gcs-web.com/static-fi/9fae85f6-eafd-4b11-ae37-5c302871a245Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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Template:Aviation statistics

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