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Largest airlines in the world

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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]

Financials

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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.
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 Steady Delta Air Lines United States 61.6 3.5 75.3 39 103,000[8]
2 Steady United Airlines United States 57.1 3.1 74.1 32 107,300[4]
3 Steady American Airlines Group United States 54.2 1.3 68.8 11 133,300[9]
4 Steady Lufthansa Group Germany 40.4 1.5 51.1 9 98,739
5 Steady Air France–KLM France/ Netherlands 36.2 0.69 37.5 2.4 76,566[10]
6 Steady International Airlines Group United Kingdom/ Spain 34.2 2.9 41.6 21 71,794
7 Steady Southwest Airlines United States 27.5 0.47 33.8 17 72,450[11]
8 Rise China Southern Airlines China 24.5 –0.59 43.7 13 97,899
9 Rise Air China China 23.0 1.6 22.0 17 87,190
10 Fall Turkish Airlines Turkey 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).

Brand value

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2025 Rank[12] Airline Country $bn Year-to-year
change
1 Steady Delta Air Lines United States 14.9 +38.3%
2 Rise United Airlines United States 12.3 +41.8%
3 Fall American Airlines United States 11.7 +14.2%
4 Steady Emirates United Arab Emirates 8.4 +27.1%
5 Steady Southwest Airlines United States 6.3 +16.8%
6 Steady British Airways United Kingdom 4.6 +44.9%
7 Rise China Southern Airlines China 4.1 +48.2%
8 Fall Qatar Airways Qatar 3.9 +24.3%
9 Fall Air Canada Canada 3.2 +14.1%
10 Steady China Eastern Airlines China 3.2 +26.0%

Capacity

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Airlines by available seat miles (ASMs)

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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 [4]
2 American Airlines United States 293 278 260 215 143 285 [13]
3 Delta Air Lines United States 288 272 233 194 134 275 [8]
4 Emirates United Arab Emirates 222 230 177 99 40 228 [14]
5 Southwest Airlines United States 178 170 148 132 103 157 [15]
6 Qatar Airways Qatar 159 157 131 100 58 149 [16]
7 Ryanair Ireland 159 152 138 91 30 118 [17]
8 China Southern Airlines China 151 197 96 133 134 214 [18]
9 Turkish Airlines Turkey 145 146 124 80 47 117 [19]
10 China Eastern Airlines China 138 114 60 100 95 168 [20]

Airline groups by available seat kilometers (ASKs)

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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 [21] [22][23] [24] [25]

Airline groups by passengers (millions)

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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 [21] [26] [24] [27] [28]

Freight (millions of CTK)

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For broader coverage of this topic, see Cargo airline.
FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers.
Rank[29] 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

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Aircraft operated (September 2025)

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United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of September 2025.
Rank Airline Country No. Ref.
1 United Airlines United States 1,050 [30]
2 American Airlines United States 1,001 [8]
3 Delta Air Lines United States 992 [31]
4 China Southern Airlines China 850 [32]
5 Southwest Airlines United States 810 [15]
6 China Eastern Airlines China 664 [33]
7 Ryanair Ireland 639 [34]
8 SkyWest Airlines United States 579 [35]
9 Air China China 510 [36]
10 Turkish Airlines Turkey 506 [37]


Aircraft owned (January 2025)

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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 #14.0
2 Delta Air Lines, Inc. 1,007 #682 15.8 #12.4
3 Air China Group 907 #352 19.0 #11.6
4 American Airlines Group 746 #595 16.7 #14.7
5 Lufthansa Group 721 #268 11.7 #6.8
6 Southwest Airlines 697 #650 15.9 #11.4
7 China Southern Airlines 663 #447 17.3 #14.8
8 China Eastern Airlines 652 #501 18.5 #14.4
9 Ryanair Holdings 607 #417 15.3 #10.6
10 Air France-KLM Group 572 #227 10.7 #7.8
11 IAG 570 #284 10.4 #4.8
12 SkyWest, Inc. 520 #511 4.5 #4.4

Network

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Destinations served (August 2025)

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Main article: List of airlines with more than 100 destinations
United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024.
Rank Airline Country No.
1 United Airlines United States 387[38]
2 American Airlines United States 356
3 Delta Air Lines United States 311
4 Turkish Airlines Turkey 292
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)

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Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries, as of June 2025.
Main article: List of airlines by countries served
Rank Airline Country No. Ref.
1 Turkish Airlines Turkey 124 [39]
2 Qatar Airways Qatar 92 [40]
3 Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopia 87 [41]
4 Air France France 86 [42]
5 Emirates United Arab Emirates 80 [43]
6 British Airways United Kingdom 77 [44]
7 United Airlines United States 76 [45]
8 Lufthansa Germany 75 [46]
9 KLM Netherlands 66 [47]
10 American Airlines United States 61 [48]

Flights daily (March 2025)

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Rank[49] 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)

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Southwest Airlines serves the largest number of routes, as of February 2024.
Rank Airline Country No. Ref.
1 Southwest Airlines United States 2,898 [50]
2 Ryanair Ireland 2,596 [51]
3 American Airlines United States 1,250 [52]
4 United Airlines United States 1,185 [38]
5 Delta Air Lines United States 1,128 [53]
6 China Eastern Airlines China 1,047 [54]
7 China Southern Airlines China 841 [55]
8 Air China China 646 [56]
9 IndiGo India 610
10 Turkish Airlines Turkey 368 [57]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The World's Largest Global Airlines in April 2024".
  2. ^ "Infographic: How the Four Biggest U.S. Airlines Compare". 26 July 2024.
  3. ^ "United claims 'world's largest' mainline fleet following milestone aircraft delivery".
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  5. ^ "United Airlines - ch-aviation".
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  7. ^ "Turkish Airlines - ch-aviation".
  8. ^ a b c "Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Delta Air Lines, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-02-18.
  9. ^ "SEC Filing | American Airlines". americanairlines.gcs-web.com. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  10. ^ https://www.airfranceklm.com/sites/default/files/2025-02/2024.12_afklm_financial_statements_and_notes.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  11. ^ "Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Southwest Airlines Co" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-03-22.
  12. ^ "Airlines 50 2025". Brand Finance. Brandirectory. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - American Airlines Group Inc". Archived from the original on 2025-02-20.
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  15. ^ a b "Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Southwest Airlines Co". Archived from the original on 2025-03-31.
  16. ^ "Qatar Airways: Available seat kilometers 2024".
  17. ^ "Ryanair Group - Annual report 2024" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-07-18.
  18. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.csair.com.
  19. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). investor.turkishairlines.com.
  20. ^ https://www.ceair.com/global/en_static/AboutChinaEasternAirlines/intoEasternAirlines/InvestorRelations/announcement/HongKongStockExchange/hkExcReleased2024_1/202404/P020240426346233104414.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  21. ^ a b "2023 World Airline Report: Airline Traffic Table". Air Transport World. July/August 2023. Aviation Week Network. 4 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Cirium Airline Passenger Rankings for 2021". September 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  23. ^ "Airline top 100 2022". Airfinance Journal. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Traffic table". Flight Global. 2020.
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  27. ^ "Traffic rankings". Flight Global. 2019.
  28. ^ "World Airline Rankings". Flight Global. 2019.
  29. ^ "Top 25 cargo airlines: Major Gains in 2024". 3 September 2025.
  30. ^ "A public showcase of Cirium's Airline & Lessor profiles".
  31. ^ https://americanairlines.gcs-web.com/static-fi/9fae85f6-eafd-4b11-ae37-5c302871a245 [bare URL]
  32. ^ "Company Profile - China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd csair.com". www.csair.com. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  33. ^ "China Eastern About China Eastern".
  34. ^ "Our Fleet".
  35. ^ "Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Skywest, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-02-24.
  36. ^ "Air China Limited 2025 Interim Results" (PDF).
  37. ^ "Turkish Airlines - Investor Relations".
  38. ^ a b "United Airlines on ch-aviation".
  39. ^ "Turkish Airlines". ch-aviation.
  40. ^ "Qatar Airways". ch-aviation.
  41. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines". ch-aviation.
  42. ^ "Air France". ch-aviation.
  43. ^ "Emirates". ch-aviation.
  44. ^ "British Airways". ch-aviation. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  45. ^ "United Airlines". ch-aviation. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  46. ^ "Lufthansa". ch-aviation. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  47. ^ "KLM Royal Dutch Airlines". ch-aviation.
  48. ^ "American Airlines". ch-aviation. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  49. ^ "Top 100 biggest airlines by number of daily departures". flightsfrom.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  50. ^ "Southwest Airlines". ch-aviation.
  51. ^ "Ryanair". ch-aviation.
  52. ^ "American Airlines on ch-aviation".
  53. ^ "Delta Air Lines on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  54. ^ "China Eastern Airlines on ch-aviation".
  55. ^ "China Southern Airlines on ch-aviation".
  56. ^ "Air China on ch-aviation".
  57. ^ "Turkish Airlines on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
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