Largest airlines in the world facts for kids
The largest airlines in the world are huge companies that can be measured in many ways. For example, in 2025, United Airlines had the most planes and flew to the most places. Delta Air Lines made the most money and had the highest brand value. American Airlines Group carried the most passengers and had the most employees. FedEx Express moved the most cargo. Southwest Airlines had the most flight routes, and Turkish Airlines flew to the most countries.
In 2023, Forbes magazine said Delta Air Lines earned the most money among public airlines. American Airlines Group and United Airlines Holdings were next. Some big airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways are not on this list because they are owned by governments or private groups, not public investors. Brand Finance, a company that studies brands, said in 2024 that Delta Air Lines had the most valuable airline brand. American Airlines and United Airlines were also very high on this list. Emirates and Qatar Airways also have very valuable brands.
American Airlines Group flew the most passengers in 2021. Delta Air Lines and Ryanair were close behind. United Airlines, Lufthansa, and Southwest Airlines also carried many passengers. This shows that airlines in the US and Europe fly a lot of people.
Contents
How Airlines Make Money
Airlines are big businesses. We can compare them by how much money they make, how much their brand is worth, and how many passengers they fly.
Money Earned (Revenue)
Revenue is the total amount of money a company brings in from selling tickets and other services. Profit is the money left after all costs are paid. Assets are things the company owns, like planes and buildings. Market cap is how much the company is worth on the stock market.
Rank | Airline | Country | Revenue | Profit | Assets | Market cap. |
Employees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(US$ billions) | |||||||
1 ![]() |
Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
59 | 5 | 75 | 34 | 100,000 |
2 ![]() |
United Airlines Holdings | ![]() |
54.8 | 2.7 | 71.9 | 18.1 | 103,300 |
3 ![]() |
American Airlines Group | ![]() |
53.2 | 0.5 | 64.4 | 9.7 | 132,100 |
4 ![]() |
Lufthansa Group | ![]() |
38.8 | 1.5 | 51.1 | 8.7 | 96,677 |
5 ![]() |
Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() |
32.9 | 0.69 | 37.5 | 3 | 75,000 |
6 ![]() |
International Airlines Group | ![]() ![]() |
31.8 | 2.9 | 41.6 | 11.1 | 71,794 |
7 ![]() |
Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
26.7 | 0.43 | 36 | 16.7 | 74,806 |
8 ![]() |
China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
22.5 | –0.59 | 43.7 | 7.3 | 99,468 |
9 ![]() |
Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
21.2 | 6.8 | 35.6 | 13.8 | 55,884 |
10 ![]() |
Air Canada | ![]() |
16.4 | 1.6 | 22 | 4.8 | 35,675 |
11 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
16 | –1.2 | 40.1 | 5.5 | 81,781 |
Note that Emirates is owned by the government, so it's not on this list of public companies. Its revenue was about US$37.4 billion in 2024. If it were public, it would be in 5th place. Qatar Airways Group is also privately owned. Its 2024 revenue was about US$22.2 billion.
Brand Value
Brand value is how much a company's name and reputation are worth. A strong brand means people trust the airline and want to fly with it.
Rank | Airline | Country | $bn | Year-to-year change |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 ![]() |
Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
10.771 | +20.7% |
2 ![]() |
American Airlines | ![]() |
10.242 | +20.7% |
3 ![]() |
United Airlines | ![]() |
8.676 | +11.5% |
4 ![]() |
Emirates | ![]() |
6.610 | +29.5% |
5 ![]() |
Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
5.394 | +14.7% |
6 ![]() |
British Airways | ![]() |
3.175 | +45.2% |
7 ![]() |
Qatar Airways | ![]() |
3.138 | +27.0% |
8 ![]() |
Air Canada | ![]() |
2.805 | +8.6% |
9 ![]() |
China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
2.767 | −14.3% |
10 ![]() |
Ryanair | ![]() |
2.541 | +7.1% |
How Many Flights They Do
Airlines can also be compared by how many passengers they carry, how far they fly them, and how much cargo they transport.
Passengers Carried
This table shows how many millions of people each airline group flew in different years.
Rank | Airline group | Country | 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | ![]() |
199 | 95.3 | 215 | 203 | 199 | 198 | 146 | 87.8 | 86.8 | 86.3 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
175 | 80.0 | 204 | 192 | 186 | 183 | 138 | 129 | 120 | 116 |
3 | Ryanair | ![]() |
168 | 52.4 | 148 | 142 | 130 | 119 | 101 | 86.3 | 81.3 | 79.6 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
157 | 67.8 | 162 | 163 | 157 | 151 | 144 | 129 | 115 | 112 |
5 | United Airlines Holdings | ![]() |
144 | 57.8 | 162 | 158 | 148 | 143 | 95.3 | 90.4 | 90.1 | 92.6 |
6 | Lufthansa Group | ![]() |
101 | 36.4 | 145 | 142 | 130 | 117 | 115 | 112 | 110 | 108 |
7 | IAG | ![]() ![]() |
94.7 | 31.3 #12 |
118 | 112 | 104 | 100 | 94.9 | 77.3 | 67.2 | 54.6 |
8 | Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() |
83.3 | 28.9 #14 |
85.6 #12 |
|||||||
9 | IndiGo | ![]() |
75.3 | 35.0 #11 |
61.9 #16 |
|||||||
10 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
71.8 | 28.0 #17= |
75.2 #14 |
Passenger-Kilometers Flown
Passenger-kilometers means the total number of passengers multiplied by the distance they flew. For example, 1 passenger flying 100 kilometers is 100 passenger-kilometers.
Rank | Airline group | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines Group | ![]() |
347 | 259 | 147 | 388 | 364 | ~359 | 358 | ~206 |
2 | United Airlines Holdings | ![]() |
332 | 207 | 118 | 385 | 347 | ~328 | 335 | ~287 |
3 | Delta Air Lines Group | ![]() |
314 | 216 | 118 | 382 | 350 | ~342 | 337 | ~278 |
4 | Air France–KLM | ![]() ![]() |
237 | 116 | 81.2 | 275 | 248 | ~238 | 235 | ~228 |
5 | Emirates | ![]() |
225 | 93.7 #11 |
78.7 | 298 | 292 | ~270 | 255 | ~209 |
6 | International Airlines Group | ![]() ![]() |
215 | 78.6 #15 |
72.2 | 285 | 252 | ~243 | 221 | ~186 |
7 | Lufthansa Group | ![]() |
207 | 89.3 #13 |
69.4 | 296 | 261 | ~226 | 220 | ~153 |
8 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
199 | 166 | 87.2 | 211 #11 |
207 | ~200 | 189 | ~167 |
9 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
162 | 153 #15 |
||||||
10 | Qatar Airways | ![]() |
154 | 172 #13 |
Rank | Airline | Country | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | ![]() |
308 | 237 | 123 | 342 | 330 | 323 | 320 | 320 | 208 | 206 |
2 | United Airlines | ![]() |
305 | 178 | 100 | 342 | 329 | 310 | 299 | 294 | 287 | 286 |
3 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
292 | 195 | 106 | 350 | 330 | 316 | 308 | 302 | 290 | 277 |
4 | Emirates | ![]() |
225 | 93.7 | 78.7 | 299 | 302 | 288 | 270 | 251 | 230 | 209 |
5 | Ryanair | ![]() |
~207 | 120 | 64.9 | 185 | 170 | 157 | 142 | 125 | ||
6 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
199 | 166 | 87.2 | 211 | 214 | 207 | 200 | 189 | 162 | 145 |
7 | Qatar Airways | ![]() |
~168 | 91.5 | 57.1 | 172 | 152 #11 |
137 #11 |
||||
8 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
162 | 86.7 | 52.2 #11 |
150 #14 |
145 #13 |
125 #14 |
||||
9 | Air France | ![]() |
123 | 60.1 #13 |
48.8 #12 |
150 #13 |
143 #14 |
136 #12 |
139 | 134 | 136 | |
10 | Lufthansa | ![]() |
119 | 50.0 #17 |
37.5 #16 |
165 #11 |
158 | 152 | 149 | 145 | 143 | 144 |
Freight Tonne-Kilometers
Freight tonne-kilometers measures how much cargo (freight) an airline carries and how far. One tonne flown for one kilometer is one tonne-kilometer.

Rank | Airline | Country | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FedEx Express | ![]() |
17,923 | 19,547 | 20,660 | 19,656 | 17,503 | 17,499 | 16,851 | 15,712 | 15,799 | 16,020 |
2 | Qatar Airways Cargo | ![]() |
14,406 | 14,267 | 16,102 | 13,740 | 13,024 | 12,695 | 10,999 | 9,221 | 7,660 | 5,997 |
3 | UPS Airlines | ![]() |
14,239 | 15,889 | 15,529 | 14,371 | 12,842 | 12,459 | 11,940 | 11,264 | 10,807 | 10,936 |
4 | Emirates SkyCargo | ![]() |
10,636 | 10,153 | 11,842 | 9,569 | 12,052 | 12,713 | 12,715 | 12,270 | 12,157 | 11,240 |
5 | Atlas Air | ![]() |
8,915 | 8,675 | 8,441 | 5,458 #12 | 4,522 #16 | 4,553 #16 | ||||
6 | Korean Air Cargo | ![]() |
8,411 | 9,518 | 10,429 | 8,104 | 7,412 | 7,839 | 8,015 | 7,666 | 7,761 | 8,079 |
7 | Turkish Cargo | ![]() |
8,325 | 8,318 | 9,223 | 6,977 | 7,029 | 5,890 #12 | 4,728 #15 | 3,640 #20 | ||
8 | Cathay Pacific Cargo | ![]() |
8,099 | 5,774 #13 | 8,215 | 8,137 | 10,930 | 11,284 | 10,772 | 9,947 | 9,935 | 9,464 |
9 | China Southern Airlines Cargo | ![]() |
7,610 | 6,915 | 8,078 | 6,591 | 6,825 | 6,597 | 6,174 #11 | 5,939 #11 | 5,355 #11 | 4,736 #12 |
10 | Cargolux | ![]() |
6,807 | 7,971 | 8,587 | 7,345 | 7,180 | 7,322 | 7,322 | 6,878 | 6,309 | 5,753 |
How Many Planes They Have
Airlines can also be compared by the size of their fleet (all their planes).
Aircraft Operated
This means all the planes an airline uses, whether they own them or rent them.

Rank | Airline | Country | No. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | ![]() |
999 | |
2 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
987 | |
3 | American Airlines | ![]() |
978 | |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
799 | |
5 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
667 | |
6 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
657 | |
7 | Air China | ![]() |
508 | |
8 | SkyWest Airlines | ![]() |
486 | |
9 | FedEx Express | ![]() |
393 | |
10 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
379 |
Aircraft Owned
This table shows how many planes an airline company actually owns.
Rank | Holding company | No. | Value ($bn) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines Holdings | 992 ![]() |
17.9 ![]() |
2 | Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 987 ![]() |
15.8 ![]() |
3 | Air China Group | 907 ![]() |
19.0 ![]() |
4 | American Airlines Group | 854 ![]() |
16.7 ![]() |
5 | Southwest Airlines | 830 ![]() |
16.8 ![]() |
6 | China Southern Airlines | 663 ![]() |
17.3 ![]() |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | 652 ![]() |
18.5 ![]() |
8 | Ryanair Holdings | 607 ![]() |
15.3 ![]() |
9 | SkyWest, Inc. | 520 ![]() |
4.5 ![]() |
10 | Lufthansa Group | 514 ![]() |
11.7 ![]() |
Aircraft Capacity (Seats)
Aircraft capacity means how many seats an airline has available across all its flights in a year.

Rank | Airline | Country | Annual capacity |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | ![]() |
250 |
2 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
230 |
3 | United Airlines | ![]() |
214 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
208 |
5 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
180 |
6 | Ryanair | ![]() |
170 |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
162 |
8 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
130 |
9 | easyJet | ![]() |
127 |
10 | Emirates | ![]() |
100 |
Where Airlines Fly
Airlines also differ by how many countries, destinations, and routes they serve.
Countries Served
This shows how many different countries an airline flies to.

Rank | Airline | Country | No. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
120 | |
2 | Qatar Airways | ![]() |
89 | |
3 | Air France | ![]() |
85 | |
4 | Ethiopian Airlines | ![]() |
84 | |
5 | Emirates | ![]() |
80 | |
=6 | British Airways | ![]() |
77 | |
=6 | Lufthansa | ![]() |
77 | |
8 | United Airlines | ![]() |
73 | |
9 | American Airlines | ![]() |
63 | |
10 | KLM | ![]() |
62 |
Passenger Destinations Served
This shows how many different cities or airports an airline flies to.

Rank | Airline | Country | No. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Airlines | ![]() |
371 | |
2 | American Airlines | ![]() |
356 | |
3 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
311 | |
4 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
287 | |
5 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
247 | |
6 | Ryanair | ![]() |
234 | |
7 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
226 | |
8 | Lufthansa | ![]() |
219 | |
9 | British Airways | ![]() |
214 | |
10 | Air France | ![]() |
205 |
Routes Served
A route is a specific path between two airports. This table shows how many different routes an airline flies.

Rank | Airline | Country | No. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
3,161 | |
2 | Ryanair | ![]() |
2,631 | |
3 | American Airlines | ![]() |
1,237 | |
4 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
1,051 | |
5 | United Airlines | ![]() |
1,033 | |
6 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
975 | |
7 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
963 | |
8 | Air China | ![]() |
641 | |
9 | IndiGo | ![]() |
610 | |
10 | Turkish Airlines | ![]() |
531 |
Number of Daily Flights
This table shows how many flights an airline operates each day.
Rank | Airline | Country | No. |
---|---|---|---|
1 | American Airlines | ![]() |
4,753 |
2 | United Airlines | ![]() |
4,101 |
3 | Ryanair | ![]() |
3,292 |
4 | Southwest Airlines | ![]() |
3,274 |
5 | Delta Air Lines | ![]() |
2,872 |
6 | China Eastern Airlines | ![]() |
2,387 |
7 | China Southern Airlines | ![]() |
2,268 |
8 | IndiGo | ![]() |
2,074 |
9 | Air China | ![]() |
1,681 |
10 | easyJet | ![]() |
1,338 |
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