Largest airlines in the world

The largest airline in the world can be measured in several ways. As of 2024, 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.

Source: Wikipedia

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Largest airlines in the world

Financials

Largest airlines in the world

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>2024 Rank</th><th>Airline Group</th><th>Country</th><th>Revenue</th><th>Net Income</th><th>Assets</th><th>Market Cap</th><th>Employees</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>(US$ billions)</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>61.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>75.3</td><td>39</td><td>103,000</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>57.1</td><td>3.1</td><td>74.1</td><td>32</td><td>107,300</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>American Airlines Group</td><td>United States</td><td>54.2</td><td>1.3</td><td>68.8</td><td>11</td><td>133,300</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Lufthansa Group</td><td>Germany</td><td>40.4</td><td>1.5</td><td>51.1</td><td>9</td><td>98,739</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Air France–KLM</td><td>France/ Netherlands</td><td>36.2</td><td>0.69</td><td>37.5</td><td>2.4</td><td>76,566</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>International Airlines Group</td><td>United Kingdom/ Spain</td><td>34.2</td><td>2.9</td><td>41.6</td><td>21</td><td>71,794</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>27.5</td><td>0.47</td><td>33.8</td><td>17</td><td>72,450</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>24.5</td><td>–0.59</td><td>43.7</td><td>13</td><td>97,899</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Air China</td><td>China</td><td>23.0</td><td>1.6</td><td>22.0</td><td>17</td><td>87,190</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>22.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>35.6</td><td>12</td><td>57,991</td></tr></tbody></table>

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

<table><thead><tr><th>2025 Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>$bn</th><th>Year-to-year change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>14.9</td><td>+38.3%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>12.3</td><td>+41.8%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>11.7</td><td>+14.2%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Emirates</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td>8.4</td><td>+27.1%</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>6.3</td><td>+16.8%</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>British Airways</td><td>United Kingdom</td><td>4.6</td><td>+44.9%</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>4.1</td><td>+48.2%</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Qatar Airways</td><td>Qatar</td><td>3.9</td><td>+24.3%</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Air Canada</td><td>Canada</td><td>3.26</td><td>+14.1%</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>3.2</td><td>+26.0%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Capacity

Airlines by available seat miles (ASMs)

Numbers are listed in billions of available seat miles.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>2025</th><th>2024</th><th>2023</th><th>2022</th><th>2021</th><th>2020</th><th>2019</th><th>Ref</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>330</td><td>311</td><td>291</td><td>248</td><td>179</td><td>123</td><td>285</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>299</td><td>293</td><td>278</td><td>260</td><td>215</td><td>143</td><td>285</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>298</td><td>288</td><td>272</td><td>233</td><td>194</td><td>134</td><td>275</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Emirates</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td></td><td>222</td><td>230</td><td>177</td><td>99</td><td>40</td><td>228</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>180</td><td>178</td><td>170</td><td>148</td><td>132</td><td>103</td><td>157</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Qatar Airways</td><td>Qatar</td><td></td><td>159</td><td>157</td><td>131</td><td>100</td><td>58</td><td>149</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td></td><td>159</td><td>152</td><td>138</td><td>91</td><td>30</td><td>118</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td></td><td>151</td><td>197</td><td>96</td><td>133</td><td>134</td><td>214</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td></td><td>145</td><td>146</td><td>124</td><td>80</td><td>47</td><td>117</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td></td><td>138</td><td>114</td><td>60</td><td>100</td><td>95</td><td>168</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Airline groups by available seat kilometers (ASKs)

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline Group</th><th>Country</th><th>2022</th><th>2021</th><th>2020</th><th>2019</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>American Airlines Group</td><td>United States</td><td>347</td><td>259</td><td>147</td><td>388</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>United Airlines Holdings</td><td>United States</td><td>332</td><td>207</td><td>118</td><td>385</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Delta Air Lines Group</td><td>United States</td><td>314</td><td>216</td><td>118</td><td>382</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Air France–KLM</td><td>France/ Netherlands</td><td>237</td><td>116</td><td>81</td><td>275</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Emirates</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td>225</td><td>93 #11</td><td>78</td><td>298</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>International Airlines Group</td><td>United Kingdom/ Spain</td><td>215</td><td>78 #15</td><td>72</td><td>285</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Lufthansa Group</td><td>Germany</td><td>207</td><td>89 #13</td><td>69</td><td>296</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>199</td><td>166</td><td>87</td><td>211 #11</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>162</td><td>86 #14</td><td></td><td>153 #15</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Qatar Airways</td><td>Qatar</td><td>154</td><td></td><td></td><td>172 #13</td></tr><tr><td>Sources</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Airline groups by passengers (millions)

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline Group</th><th>Country</th><th>2024</th><th>2023</th><th>2022</th><th>2021</th><th>2020</th><th>2019</th><th>2018</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>American Airlines Group</td><td>United States</td><td>225</td><td>211</td><td>199</td><td>124</td><td>95</td><td>215</td><td>203</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>200</td><td>190</td><td>175</td><td>123</td><td>80</td><td>204</td><td>192</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td>183.7</td><td>182</td><td>168</td><td>97</td><td>52</td><td>148</td><td>142</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>United Airlines Holdings</td><td>United States</td><td>174</td><td>165</td><td>144</td><td>73</td><td>57</td><td>162</td><td>158</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>140</td><td>137</td><td>157</td><td>123</td><td>67</td><td>162</td><td>163</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Lufthansa Group</td><td>Germany</td><td>131</td><td>123</td><td>101</td><td>24</td><td>36</td><td>145</td><td>142</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>International Airlines Group</td><td>United Kingdom/ Spain</td><td>122</td><td>115</td><td>95</td><td>31 #12</td><td>118</td><td>112</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>IndiGo</td><td>India</td><td>118.6</td><td>105</td><td>75</td><td>48</td><td>35 #11</td><td></td><td>61 #16</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Air France–KLM</td><td>France/ Netherlands</td><td>98</td><td>118</td><td>83</td><td></td><td>28 #14</td><td></td><td>85 #12</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>83.4</td><td>83</td><td>72</td><td>45</td><td>28 #17=</td><td></td><td>75 #14</td></tr><tr><td>Sources</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Freight (millions of CTK)

FedEx Express is the largest by freight tonne-kilometers.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country / Region</th><th>2024</th><th>2023</th><th>2022</th><th>2021</th><th>2020</th><th>2019</th><th>2018</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>FedEx Express</td><td>United States</td><td>18,133</td><td>17,923</td><td>19,547</td><td>20,660</td><td>19,656</td><td>17,503</td><td>17,499</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Qatar Airways Cargo</td><td>Qatar</td><td>15,211</td><td>14,406</td><td>14,267</td><td>16,102</td><td>13,740</td><td>13,024</td><td>12,695</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>UPS Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>15,094</td><td>14,239</td><td>15,889</td><td>15,529</td><td>14,371</td><td>12,842</td><td>12,459</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Emirates SkyCargo</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td>12,354</td><td>10,636</td><td>10,153</td><td>11,842</td><td>9,569</td><td>12,052</td><td>12,713</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Atlas Air</td><td>United States</td><td>11,942</td><td>8,915</td><td>8,675</td><td>8,441</td><td>5,458 #12</td><td>4,522 #16</td><td>4,553 #16</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Turkish Cargo</td><td>Turkey</td><td>10,240</td><td>8,325</td><td>8,318</td><td>9,223</td><td>6,977</td><td>7,029</td><td>5,890</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Korean Air Cargo</td><td>South Korea</td><td>8,728</td><td>8,411</td><td>9,518</td><td>10,429</td><td>8,104</td><td>7,412</td><td>7,839</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>China Southern Airlines Cargo</td><td>China</td><td>8,653</td><td>7,610</td><td>6,915</td><td>8,078</td><td>6,591</td><td>6,825</td><td>6,597</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Cathay Cargo</td><td>Hong Kong</td><td>8,503</td><td>8,099</td><td>5,774 #13</td><td>8,215</td><td>8,137</td><td>10,930</td><td>11,284</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Cargolux</td><td>Luxembourg</td><td>8,263</td><td>6,807</td><td>7,971</td><td>8,587</td><td>7,345</td><td>7,180</td><td>7,322</td></tr></tbody></table>

Fleet size

Aircraft operated (February 2026)

United Airlines operates the largest number of aircraft, as of September 2025.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>No.</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>1,061</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>1,005</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>992</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>850</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>810</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>664</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td>643</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>SkyWest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>579</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>522</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Air China</td><td>China</td><td>510</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Aircraft owned (January 2025)

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Holding company</th><th>No.</th><th>Value ($bn)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>United Airlines Holdings</td><td>1,026</td><td>17.9</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Delta Air Lines, Inc.</td><td>1,007</td><td>15.8</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Air China Group</td><td>907</td><td>19.0</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>American Airlines Group</td><td>746</td><td>16.7</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Lufthansa Group</td><td>721</td><td>11.7</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>697</td><td>15.9</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>663</td><td>17.3</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>652</td><td>18.5</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Ryanair Holdings</td><td>607</td><td>15.3</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Air France-KLM Group</td><td>572</td><td>10.7</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>IAG</td><td>570</td><td>10.4</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>SkyWest, Inc.</td><td>520</td><td>4.5</td></tr></tbody></table>

Network

Destinations served (August 2025)

United Airlines serves the largest number of destinations, as of February 2024.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>No.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>387</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>356</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>352</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>311</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td>239</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>235</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>224</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Lufthansa</td><td>Germany</td><td>214</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>British Airways</td><td>United Kingdom</td><td>216</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Air France</td><td>France</td><td>196</td></tr></tbody></table>

Countries served (June 2025)

Turkish Airlines serves the largest number of countries, as of June 2025.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>No.</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>131</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Qatar Airways</td><td>Qatar</td><td>92</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Ethiopian Airlines</td><td>Ethiopia</td><td>87</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Air France</td><td>France</td><td>86</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Emirates</td><td>United Arab Emirates</td><td>80</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>British Airways</td><td>United Kingdom</td><td>77</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>76</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Lufthansa</td><td>Germany</td><td>75</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>KLM</td><td>Netherlands</td><td>66</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>61</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Flights daily (March 2025)

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>No.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>5,946</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>4,343</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>4,167</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>3,592</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td>2,584</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>2,506</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>IndiGo</td><td>India</td><td>2,244</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>2,125</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Air China</td><td>China</td><td>1,659</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>easyJet</td><td>United Kingdom</td><td>1,298</td></tr></tbody></table>

Routes served (August 2025)

Southwest Airlines serves the largest number of routes, as of February 2024.

<table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Airline</th><th>Country</th><th>No.</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Southwest Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>2,898</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Ryanair</td><td>Ireland</td><td>2,596</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>American Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>1,250</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>United Airlines</td><td>United States</td><td>1,185</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Delta Air Lines</td><td>United States</td><td>1,128</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>China Eastern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>1,047</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>China Southern Airlines</td><td>China</td><td>841</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Air China</td><td>China</td><td>646</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>IndiGo</td><td>India</td><td>610</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Turkish Airlines</td><td>Turkey</td><td>368</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>