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Largest airlines in the world

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There are several methods to measure the size of an airline, so several different lists of the world's largest airlines are available.

By scheduled passengers

Scheduled passengers carried

Delta Air Lines Boeing 747
Rank Airline 2009
(thousands)		 2008
(thousands)		 2007
(thousands)[1]		 2006
(thousands)[2]		 2005
(thousands)
1 United States Delta Air Lines4 161,049 106,070 72,900 73,584 86,007 [3]
2 United States Southwest Airlines 101,339 101,921 101,911 96,277 88,380 [4]
3 United States American Airlines 85,719 92,772 98,162 99,835 98,038 [5]
4 United States United Airlines1 81,421 86,412 68,400 69,265 66,717 [6]
5 Germany Lufthansa2 76,543 70,543 66,100 53,400 51,300 [7]
6 FranceNetherlands Air France-KLM3 73,844 74,795 73,484 70,015 [8]
7 China China Southern Airlines 66,280 57,961 56,900 48,512 43,228
8 Republic of Ireland Ryanair 65,300 57,647 [9]
9 United States Continental Airlines 62,809 66,692 53,700 55,925 57,547 [10]
10 United States US Airways 51,016 54,776 [11]
United States Northwest Airlines 49,671
Japan Japan Airlines 50,442 48,911 50,884 [12]
Japan All Nippon Airways 50,384 49,226 48,315 [13]
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association and individual companies' published figures
  • ^1 numbers include regional affiliates since 2008
  • ^2 numbers include Swissair since 2007, Austrian Airlines and bmi since 2009
  • ^3 numbers according to fiscal year, which ends in March
  • ^4 includes Northwest Airlines since 2009, regional affiliates since 2008

Scheduled international passengers carried

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 shortly after takeoff
Rank Airline 2008
(thousands)[1]		 2007
(thousands)[2]		 2006
(thousands)
1 Republic of Ireland Ryanair 57,647 49,030 40,532
2 Germany Lufthansa1 42,151 41,322 38,236
3 United Kingdom EasyJet 35,417 30,173 21,917
4 France Air France 32,508 31,549 30,417
5 United Kingdom British Airways 29,054 28,302 29,498
6 Netherlands KLM 23,808 23,165 22,322
7 United Arab Emirates Emirates Airline 22,444 20,448 16,748
8 United States American Airlines 21,154 21,479 21,228
9 Singapore Singapore Airlines2 19,142 18,957 18,022
10 Hong Kong Cathay Pacific3 18,860
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Excludes figures for Swiss International Air Lines and Germanwings
  • ^2 Excludes figures for SilkAir
  • ^3 Excludes figures for Dragonair, which if included will be 23,253.

Scheduled domestic passengers carried

A Southwest Airlines 737 landing at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Rank Airline 2008
(thousands)[14]		 2007
(thousands)[1]		 2006
(thousands)[2]
1 United States Southwest Airlines 101,921 101,911 96,277
2 United States American Airlines 71,618 76,687 78,607
3 United States Delta Air Lines 59,499 61,651 63,446
4 China China Southern Airlines1 54,154 52,505 45,249
5 United States United Airlines 53,307 58,162 58,801
6 United States US Airways 49,208 37,560 32,094
7 Japan All Nippon Airways 42,854 44,792 45,328
8 United States Northwest Airlines 38,890 37,175 35,852
9 Japan Japan Airlines 35,068 35,583 37,154
10 United States Continental Airlines 34,578 44,337 45,743
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Includes figures for flights between Hong Kong from the rest of the People's Republic of China.

By scheduled passenger-miles

Scheduled passenger-miles flown

American Airlines Boeing 757
Rank Airline 2008
(millions)[15]		 2006
(millions)		 2005
(millions)
1 United States American Airlines 242,987 231,330 222,761
2 United States United Airlines 204,706 197,684 191,933
3 United States Delta Air Lines3 199,895 178,952 166,209
4 United States Continental Airlines 149,845 137,712 130,965
5 France Air France1 129,433 123,458 128,914
6 Germany Lufthansa2 126,267 122,672 107,091
7 United States Northwest Airlines 126,212 116,845 91,357
8 United States Southwest Airlines 124,734 116,845 90,385
9 United Kingdom British Airways 114,608 113,275 114,896
10 Netherlands KLM 113,672
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Excludes figures for KLM
  • ^2 Excludes figures for Swiss International Air Lines and Germanwings
  • ^3 Delta will become the world's largest carrier once operations with Northwest Airlines have combined.

Scheduled international passenger-miles flown

Air France Airbus A320-200
Rank Airline 2008[15]
(millions)		 2007
(millions)
1 France Air France1 121,498 118,112
2 Germany Lufthansa2 121,101 116,838
3 United Kingdom British Airways 113,075 110,320
4 United Arab Emirates Emirates Airline 100,672 90,530
5 Singapore Singapore Airlines3 93,626 90,901
6 Hong Kong Cathay Pacific4 83,542 74,987
7 United States American Airlines 80,809 81,324
8 Netherlands KLM 77,550
9 United States United Airlines 73,927 77,709
10 United States Delta Air Lines 71,972 63,202
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Excludes figures for KLM
  • ^2 Excludes figures for Swiss International Air Lines and Germanwings
  • ^3 Excludes figures for SilkAir
  • ^4 Includes figures for flights between Hong Kong and the rest of the People's Republic of China

Scheduled domestic passenger-kilometers flown

American Airlines Airbus A300
Rank Airline 2008
(millions)[15]		 2007
(millions)[15]		 2006
(millions)
1 United States American Airlines 131,178 141,437 143,201
2 United States Southwest Airlines 118,272 116,385 108,935
3 United States United Airlines 102,779 114,224 114,106
4 United States Delta Air Lines 97,923 103,008 104,626
5 United States US Airways 77,054 52,018 43,606
6 China China Southern Airlines1 71,584 69,367 59,006
7 United States Continental Airlines 69,814 74,126 70,810
8 United States Northwest Airlines 58,501 63,872 64,979
9 United States JetBlue Airways 41,953 41,395 37,513
10 China Air China 38,761
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Includes figures for flights to Hong Kong from the rest of the People's Republic of China.

By scheduled freight

Scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown

A FedEx Express Airbus A310 taxis for takeoff at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.
Rank Airline 2008
(millions)[16]		 2007
(millions)[16]		 2006
(millions)		 2005
(millions)
1 United States FedEx Express 26,122 19,710 16,145 12,408
2 United States UPS Airlines 16,977 13,968 9,941 9,075
3 South Korea Korean Air Cargo 8,890 9,568 8,764 8,072
4 Hong Kong Cathay Pacific 8,245 8,225 6,914 6,458
5 Germany Lufthansa Cargo1 8,206 8,348 8,091 7,680
6 Singapore Singapore Airlines Cargo2 7,486 7,945 7,991 7,603
7 France Air France3 6,820 6,126 5,868 5,532
8 Luxembourg Cargolux 6,334 5,482 5,237 5,149
9 United Arab Emirates Emirates Airline 5,313 5,497
10 Taiwan China Airlines 5,261 6,301 6,099 6,037
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Includes figures for Lufthansa
  • ^2 Includes figures for Singapore Airlines
  • ^3 Excludes figures for KLM

Scheduled international freight tonne-kilometres flown

Korean Air Boeing 747, one of the passenger aircraft with the cargo hold managed by Korean Air Cargo
Rank Airline 2008
(millions)[16]		 2007
(millions)		 2006
(millions)
1 South Korea Korean Air Cargo 8,822 9,498 8,680
2 Hong Kong Cathay Pacific3 8,245 8,225 6,914
3 Germany Lufthansa Cargo1 8,194 8,336 8,077
4 Singapore Singapore Airlines Cargo2 7,486 7,945 7,991
5 United States FedEx Express 6,582 6,470 6,136
6 United Arab Emirates Emirates Airline 6,013 5,497 5,027
7 France Air France4 6,013 6,123 5,864
8 Luxembourg Cargolux 5,334 5,482 5,237
9 United States UPS Airlines 5,289 5,077
10 Taiwan China Airlines 5,261 6,301 6,099
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Includes figures for Lufthansa
  • ^2 Includes figures for Singapore Airlines
  • ^3 Includes figures for flights between Hong Kong and the rest of the People's Republic of China
  • ^4 Excludes figures for KLM

Scheduled domestic freight tonne-kilometres flown

FedEx Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11
Rank Airline 2007
(millions)[16]		 2006
(millions)
1 United States FedEx Express 9,239 9,009
2 United States UPS Airlines 5,892 5,315
3 China China Southern Airlines1 1,101 1,027
4 United States Northwest Airlines 773 890
5 China Air China1 757 706
6 China China Eastern Airlines1 590 560
7 United States United Airlines 507 417
8 United States American Airlines 469 493
9 Japan All Nippon Airways 407 404
10 Japan Japan Airlines 399
Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association published figures
  • ^1 Excludes figures for flights to Hong Kong and/or Macau from the rest of the People's Republic of China.

By fleet size

Passenger airlines

Delta Air Lines Boeing 757
Rank Airline Fleet size Notes
1 United States Delta Air Lines 752[17]
2 United States American Airlines 612[18]
3 United States Southwest Airlines 547[19]
4 United States United Airlines 359[20]
5 United States US Airways 357[21]
6 United States Continental Airlines 338[22]
7 Canada Air Canada 335[23]
8 China China Southern Airlines 324[24]
9 Russia UTair Aviation 313[25]
10 United States SkyWest Airlines 286[26]
11 France Air France 249[27]
12 United Kingdom British Airways 231[28]

Cargo airlines

Rank Airline Fleet size Notes
1 United States FedEx Express 672[29]
2 Germany DHL Aviation 350
3 United States UPS Airlines 262[30]

By number of destinations

Current Number of Destinations

This list comprises the airlines with over 100 destinations. These destinations include subsidiaries airlines of each company, but exclude codeshare agreements.

Rank Airline Country Destinations
1 Delta Air Lines United States United States 375
2 Continental Airlines United States United States 351
3 US Airways United States United States 231
4 Lufthansa Germany Germany 201
5 Air Canada Canada Canada 178
6 Air France France France 170
7 British Airways United Kingdom United Kingdom 165
8 SkyWest Airlines United States United States 160
9 Turkish Airlines Turkey Turkey 158
10 American Airlines United States United States 157
11 Qantas Australia Australia 150
12 Ryanair Republic of Ireland Ireland 143
13 Japan Airlines Japan Japan 125
14 KLM Netherlands Netherlands 125
15 Air Berlin Germany Germany 123
16 China Southern Airlines China China 121
17 Iberia Airlines Spain Spain 118
18 Korean Air South Korea South Korea 116
19 United Airlines United States United States 114
20 Avianca Colombia Colombia 109
21 easyJet United Kingdom United Kingdom 106
22 Emirates Airline United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 101

By region

Scheduled passengers carried

Continent/
region		 Airline Passengers carried Full list
Africa Morocco Royal Air Maroc 10,050,000 (2006/2007)[31] List of largest airlines in Africa
Asia China China Southern Airlines 58,237,000 (2008)[32] List of largest airlines in Asia
Europe FranceNetherlands Air France-KLM 74,795,000 (2007)[1] List of largest airlines in Europe
North America United States Southwest Airlines 101,911,000 (2007)[1] List of largest airlines in North America
Oceania Australia Qantas 25,950,000 (2007)[33] List of largest airlines in Oceania
South America Brazil TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas) 43,823,948 (2009)[34] List of largest airlines in South America

Historical

Aeroflot

During the Soviet era, Aeroflot was the Soviet national airline and the largest airline in the world from late 1930s until the fall of the Soviet Union, where it employed more than 4,000 pilots, 60,000 other service personnel and operated around 3,000 aircraft at its peak.[35] However, R. E. G. Davies, former curator of the Smithsonian Institution, claims that by 1992 Aeroflot had over 600,000 people operating over 10,000 aircraft.[36] By 1967, Aeroflot had amassed a fleet equal to that of the largest American carriers combined [37] by 1976 Aeroflot carried its 100 millionth passenger. In 1988, Aeroflot operated 1,600 medium- and long-range passenger and cargo aircraft plus many types of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft serving more 3,600 population centers and had a route network, excluding overlapping routes, that extended 1,156,000 kilometers, of which 185,000 kilometers were international routes. Aeroflot transported 3,157,000 tons of freight and carried 116.1 million passengers, of whom 3.4 million were on international flights.[38]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "WATS Scheduled Passengers Carried 52nd Edition". International Air Transport Association. 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "WATS Scheduled Passengers Carried (dead link)". International Air Transport Association. 2006.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Southwest Airlines - Investor Relations
  5. ^ American Airlines Reports December Traffic
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ Lufthansa Investor Relations Verkehrszahlen
  8. ^ Informations financières Air France-KLM
  9. ^ [3]
  10. ^ [4]
  11. ^ [5]
  12. ^ Japan Airlines FY2008 Traffic Data
  13. ^ ANA Reports Profitable Fiscal Year 2007
  14. ^ "WATS Scheduled Passengers Carried 52nd Edition". International Air Transport Association. 2008.
  15. ^ a b c d "WATS Scheduled Passenger - Kilometres Flown". International Air Transport Association. 2007.
  16. ^ a b c d "WATS Scheduled Freight Tonne - Kilometres". International Air Transport Association. 2007.
  17. ^ Delta Air Lines at airfleets.net
  18. ^ American Airlines at airfleets.net
  19. ^ Southwest Airlines at airfleets.net
  20. ^ United Fleet Facts
  21. ^ US Airways Fleet
  22. ^ Continental Fleet
  23. ^ [6]
  24. ^ [7]
  25. ^ [8]
  26. ^ SkyWest Fleet
  27. ^ [9]
  28. ^ [10]
  29. ^ "FedEx Corporation Facts".
  30. ^ "UPS:Worldwide".
  31. ^ South African Airways at Star Alliance
  32. ^ China Southern 2008 statistics
  33. ^ Qantas Annual Report 2007
  34. ^ TAM Annual Report 2006
  35. ^ p.6, Kotkin, V.F., Civil Air Fleet in the years of initial five-year plans. (Гражданский воздушный флот в годы первых пятилеток.) Civil Aviation of USSR in the years of the Great Patriotic War (Гражданская авиация СССР в годы Великой Отечественной войны), Special Report, Airports - Progressive technologies No.1, 2003, Group of companies Progresstech
  36. ^ Pages 92 and 94 in "Aeroflot: An Airline and its Aircraft," from Paladwr Press, Oct 1992 by R.E.G. Davies, (Curator of Air Transport at the Smithsonian), ISBN-10: 0962648310, ISBN-13: 978-0962648311
  37. ^ Smith, Patrick (2004-03-09). "Ask the pilot". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  38. ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+su0388%29

References

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