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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, net income, 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.

Revenue

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2025 rank[8] Airline group Country Revenue
(in US$ billion)
1 Delta Air LinesUnited States 63.3
2 United AirlinesUnited States 59.0
3 American Airlines GroupUnited States 54.6
4 Lufthansa GroupGermany 45.7
5 International Airlines GroupUnited Kingdom / Spain 38.3
6 Air France–KLMFrance / Netherlands 35.5
7 Southwest Airlines United States 28.0
8 China Southern Airlines China 24.4
9 Air China China 23.4
10 China Eastern Airlines China 18.7

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 $37.4 billion. Qatar Airways is privately held with its 2024 revenue of around $22.2 billion.[citation needed]

Earnings

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2025 Rank[9] Airline Group Country Earnings
(US$ billion)
1 Delta Air LinesUnited States 6.8
2 United AirlinesUnited States 5.4
3 International Airlines GroupUnited Kingdom / Spain 5.2
4 Lufthansa GroupGermany 2.9
5 Ryanair Group Ireland 2.9
6 Singapore Airlines Singapore 2.2
7 LATAM Airlines Chile / Brasil 2.2
8 American Airlines GroupUnited States 1.9
9 Air France–KLMFrance / The Netherlands 1.7
10 QantasAustralia 1.6

Market capitalization (June 2026)

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Rank[10] Airline Group Country Market cap
(US$ billion)
1 Delta Air LinesUnited States 54.56
2 United AirlinesUnited States 37.49
3 Ryanair Group Ireland 31.41
4 International Airlines GroupUnited Kingdom/Spain 24.03
5 Southwest Airlines United States 22.22
6 IndiGo India 19.92
7 Air China China 19.77
8 Singapore Airlines Singapore 17.62
9 LATAM Airlines Chile 15.58
10 China Southern Airlines China 14.64

Brand value

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2025 Rank[11] 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 3.26 +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 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 Ref
1 United AirlinesUnited States 330 311291248179123285[12]
2 American AirlinesUnited States 299 293278260215143285[13]
3 Delta Air LinesUnited States 298 288272233194134275[14]
4 EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates 2222301779940228[15]
5 Southwest AirlinesUnited States 180 178170148132103157[16]
6 Qatar AirwaysQatar 15915713110058149[17]
7 RyanairIreland 1591521389130118[18]
8 China Southern AirlinesChina 15119796133134214[19]
9 Turkish AirlinesTurkey 1451461248047117[20]
10 China Eastern AirlinesChina 1381146010095168[21]

Airline groups by passengers (millions)

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Rank Airline Group Country 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
1 American Airlines Group United States 22521119912495215
2 Delta Air Lines United States 20019017512380204
3 Ryanair Holdings Ireland 1841821689752148
4 United Airlines United States 1741651447357162
5 Southwest Airlines United States 14013715712367162
6 Lufthansa Group Germany 1311231012436145
7 International Airlines Group United Kingdom / Spain 1221159531
#12		118112
8 IndiGo India 119105754835
#11
9 Air France–KLM France / Netherlands 981188328
#14
10 Turkish Airlines Turkey 8383724528
#17=
Sources [citation needed] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]

Freight (millions of CTK)

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FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers.
Rank[27] Airline Country / Region 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
1 FedEx Express United States 18,13317,92319,54720,66019,65617,50317,499
2 Qatar Airways Cargo Qatar 15,21114,40614,26716,10213,74013,02412,695
3 UPS Airlines United States 15,09414,23915,88915,52914,37112,84212,459
4 Emirates SkyCargo United Arab Emirates 12,35410,63610,15311,8429,56912,05212,713
5 Atlas Air United States 11,9428,9158,6758,4415,458 #124,522 #164,553 #16
6 Turkish Cargo Turkey 10,2408,3258,3189,2236,9777,0295,890
7 Korean Air Cargo South Korea 8,7288,4119,51810,4298,1047,4127,839
8 China Southern Airlines Cargo China 8,6537,6106,9158,0786,5916,8256,597
9 Cathay Cargo Hong Kong 8,5038,0995,774 #138,2158,13710,93011,284
10 Cargolux Luxembourg 8,2636,8077,9718,5877,3457,1807,322

Fleet size

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Aircraft operated (February 2026)

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United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of September 2025.
RankAirlineCountryNo.Ref.
1 United Airlines United States 1,090 [28]
2 American Airlines United States 1,013 [29]
3 Delta Air Lines United States 989 [30]
4 China Southern Airlines China 850 [31]
5 Southwest Airlines United States 810 [16]
6 China Eastern Airlines China 664 [32]
7 Ryanair Ireland 643 [33]
8 SkyWest Airlines United States 579 [34]
9 Turkish Airlines Turkey 545 [35]
10 Air China China 510 [36]


Aircraft owned (July 2023)

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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[37] Holding company No. Value ($bn)
1 (tie) #52 American Airlines Group 854 #595 16.7 #14.7
1 (tie) #2 Delta Air Lines, Inc. 854 #682 15.8 #12.4
3 #1 United Airlines Holdings 764 #700 17.9 #14.0
4 #3 Southwest Airlines 759 #650 16.8 #11.4
5 #6 China Eastern Airlines 583 #501 18.5 #14.4
6 #9 Air China Group 580 #352 19.0 #11.6
7 #7 China Southern Airlines 545 #447 17.3 #14.8
8 #8 Ryanair Holdings 529 #417 15.3 #10.6
9 #5 SkyWest, Inc. 520 #511 4.5 #4.4
10 #11 Lufthansa Group 514 #268 11.7 #6.8

Network

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Destinations served (April 2026)

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United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024.
Rank Airline Country No.
1 United Airlines United States 392[38]
2 American Airlines United States 367[39]
3 Delta Air Lines United States 315[40]
4 Turkish Airlines Turkey 290[41]
5 China Southern Airlines China 226[42]
6 China Eastern Airlines China 225[43]
7 Ryanair Ireland 223[44]
8 Air China China 213[45]
British Airways United Kingdom 213[46]
10 Air Canada Canada 204[47]

Countries served (April 2026)

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Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries
RankAirlineNumber of CountriesCountry of origin
1Turkish Airlines130[48]Turkey
2Air France94[49]France
3Qatar Airways92[50]Qatar
4Ethiopian Airlines87[51]Ethiopia
5British Airways79[52]United Kingdom
Emirates79[53]United Arab Emirates
7Lufthansa76[54]Germany
8United Airlines75[55]United States
9KLM66[56]Netherlands
10American Airlines64[57]United States
Delta Air Lines64[58]United States

Air Canada

 64[59] Canada

Flights daily (March 2025)

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Rank[60] 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 (April 2026)

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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 2,509 [61]
2 Ryanair[a] Ireland 2,496 [62]
3 American Airlines United States 1,391 [63]
4 United Airlines United States 1,148 [64]
5 Delta Air Lines United States 1,095 [65]
6 easyJet United Kingdom 1,207 [66]
7 Wizz Air Hungary 1,018 [67]
8 China Eastern Airlines China 923 [68]
9 China Southern Airlines China 780 [69]
10 IndiGo India 730 [70]

Notes

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  1. ↑ excluding Ryanair UK

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".
  4. ↑ "Form 10k, United Airlines, 2024".
  5. ↑ "United Airlines - ch-aviation".
  6. ↑ "Threads".
  7. ↑ "Turkish Airlines - ch-aviation".
  8. ↑ "Top publicly traded airlines by revenue". companiesmarketcap.com. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  9. ↑ "Top publicly traded airlines by earnings". companiesmarketcap.com. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  10. ↑ "Largest airlines by market cap". companiesmarketcap.com. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  11. ↑ "Airlines 50 2025". Brand Finance. Brandirectory. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  12. ↑ https://ir.united.com/static-files/3325136f-9671-4f16-9ffa-bf8ba8449a88
  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.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ "Annual report 2022-2023" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-05-11.
  16. 1 2 "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.
  17. ↑ "Qatar Airways: Available seat kilometers 2024".
  18. ↑ "Ryanair Group - Annual report 2024" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-07-18.
  19. ↑ "2023 Annual Results" (PDF). www.csair.com.
  20. ↑ "Turkish Airlines Fact Sheet" (PDF). investor.turkishairlines.com.
  21. ↑ "2023 Annual Report" (PDF). China Eastern. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-08-31.
  22. ↑ "2023 World Airline Report: Airline Traffic Table". Air Transport World. July/August 2023. Aviation Week Network. 4 August 2023.
  23. ↑ "Traffic table". Flight Global. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  24. ↑ "Traffic table". Flight Global. 2020.
  25. ↑ "Traffic rankings". Flight Global. 2019.
  26. ↑ "World Airline Rankings". Flight Global. 2019.
  27. ↑ "Top 25 cargo airlines: Major Gains in 2024". 3 September 2025.
  28. ↑ "A public showcase of Cirium's Airline & Lessor profiles".
  29. ↑ "AAL 2025 Annual Report". February 18, 2026.
  30. ↑ https://s2.q4cdn.com/181345880/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/DAL-12-31-2025-10K-2-10-26-Filed.pdf | date=February 10, 2026
  31. ↑ "Company Profile - China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd csair.com". www.csair.com. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  32. ↑ "China Eastern About China Eastern".
  33. ↑ "Our Fleet".
  34. ↑ "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.
  35. ↑ "Turkish Airlines - Investor Relations".
  36. ↑ "Air China Limited 2025 Interim Results" (PDF).
  37. ↑ "Airline top 100 2023". Airfinance Journal. Vol. 73. Archived from the original on 11 Dec 2023.
  38. ↑ "United Airlines". www.flightconnections.com.
  39. ↑ "American Airlines". www.flightconnections.com.
  40. ↑ "Delta". www.flightconnections.com.
  41. ↑ "Turkish Airlines". www.flightconnections.com.
  42. ↑ "China Southern". www.flightconnections.com.
  43. ↑ "China Eastern". www.flightconnections.com.
  44. ↑ "Ryanair Q3 FY26 Results" (PDF). 26 Jan 2026.
  45. ↑ "Air China". www.flightconnections.com.
  46. ↑ "British Airways". www.flightconnections.com.
  47. ↑ "Air Canada". www.flightconnections.com.
  48. ↑ "Turkish Airlines". ch-aviation.com.
  49. ↑ "Air France". ch-aviation.com.
  50. ↑ "Qatar Airways". ch-aviation.com.
  51. ↑ "Ethiopian". ch-aviation.com.
  52. ↑ "British Airways". ch-aviation.com.
  53. ↑ "Emirates". ch-aviation.com.
  54. ↑ "Lufthansa". ch-aviation.com.
  55. ↑ "United Airlines". ch-aviation.com.
  56. ↑ "KLM". ch-aviation.com.
  57. ↑ "American Airlines". ch-aviation.com.
  58. ↑ "Delta Air Lines". ch-aviation.com.
  59. ↑ "Air Canada". ch-aviation.com.
  60. ↑ "Top 100 biggest airlines by number of daily departures". flightsfrom.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  61. ↑ "Southwest Airlines". ch-aviation.
  62. ↑ "Ryanair". ch-aviation.
  63. ↑ "American Airlines on ch-aviation".
  64. ↑ "United Airlines on ch-aviation".
  65. ↑ "Delta Air Lines on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  66. ↑ "easyJet plc - About - What we do". corporate.easyjet.com. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  67. ↑ "WIZZ – Investor Relations Overview". www.wizzair.com. 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  68. ↑ "China Eastern Airlines on ch-aviation".
  69. ↑ "China Southern Airlines on ch-aviation".
  70. ↑ "IndiGo". ch-aviation.com.
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