Airline Benchmark — Airline Overview
To understand an airline’s performance, it is required to put context to its data and figures. That’s why we put together the most comprehensive airline benchmark ever. We selected 15 leading airlines and gathered data from all relevant areas.
Benchmarked Airlines
Before we dive into the details, here’s an overview of the contained airlines:
- Aeromexico
- Air France
- American Airlines
- Azul
- British Airways
- China Eastern Airlines
- China Souther Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- KLM
- LATAM
- Lufthansa
- Qatar
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
Benchmarked Areas
For each of the airlines, we put together benchmarks of the following areas:
| Network Benchmark | Served Destinations, Countries, Continents |
| Operations Benchmark | On-time performance, number of passengers |
| Fleet Benchmark | Number of aircraft (Overall & clustered) |
| Social Media Benchmark | Twitter Follower, Instagram Follower, Facebook Pag Likes |
| Safety & Quality Benchmark | Skytrax Ranking, Eco Score, Safety Index |
| Corporate Benchmark | Employees, Revenue, Net Income |
Benchmarked Airlines — Base Information
Here is some base information about each benchmarked airline.
| Airline | Country | Region | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | Mexico | Central America | 1934 |
| Air France | France | Europe | 1933 |
| American Airlines | United States | North America | 1926 |
| Azul | Brazil | South America | 2008 |
| British Airways | United Kingdom | Europe | 1974 |
| China Eastern Airlines | China | Asia | 1988 |
| China Southern Airlines | China | Asia | 1988 |
| Delta Air Lines | United States | North America | 1929 |
| Emirates | United Arab Emirates | Middle East | 1985 |
| KLM | Netherlands | Europe | 1919 |
| LATAM | Chile | South America | 2012 |
| Lufthansa | Germany | Europe | 1953 |
| Qatar Airways | Qatar | Middle East | 1993 |
| Turkish Airlines | Turkey | Europe | 1933 |
| United Airlines | United States | North America | 1926 |
Network Benchmark
The network benchmark provides details about the number of destinations, countries, and continents an airline serves. The shown data is mainly based on 2020 information. Here are the core results:
- With 350 airports, American Airlines is the airline that serves the most destinations.
- Turkish Airline is the airline that serves the most countries (123).
| Airline | Destinations | Countries | Continents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 89 | 24 | 3 |
| Air France | 211 | 93 | 5 |
| American Airlines | 350 | 55 | 5 |
| Azul | 112 | 3 | 3 |
| British Airways | 183 | 75 | 5 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 248 | 34 | 4 |
| China Southern Airlines | 216 | 47 | 5 |
| Delta Air Lines | 325 | 52 | 5 |
| Emirates | 157 | 85 | 5 |
| KLM | 145 | 75 | 4 |
| LATAM | 137 | 24 | 4 |
| Lufthansa | 220 | 102 | 4 |
| Qatar Airways | 173 | 90 | 5 |
| Turkish Airlines | 315 | 123 | 4 |
| United Airlines | 342 | 74 | 5 |
Operations Benchmark
In terms of an operations benchmark, we included punctuality and passenger figures. Punctuality figures are based on OAG and reflect 2018 values. Concerning passenger figures, we used several sources. Unfortunately, it was not possible to retrieve passenger figures for the identical year for each airline. Here are the key takeaways:
- LATAM is the most punctual airline, followed by KLM and Delta Air Lines.
- With 215 resp. 192 million passengers, American and Delta Air Lines, carry the most passengers.
| Airline | Punctuality (2018) | Passenger (mil.) |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 78.95% | 19.7 (2016) |
| Air France | 79.92% | 46.8 (2019) |
| American Airlines | 77.9% | 215.18 (2019) |
| Azul | 80.4% | 26.0 (2019) |
| British Airways | 76.18% | 45.2 (2017) |
| China Eastern Airlines | 72.86% | 71.9 (2019) |
| China Southern Airlines | 71.52% | 126.2 (2017) |
| Delta Air Lines | 83.56% | 192.2 (2018) |
| Emirates | 79.47% | 58.6 (2019) |
| KLM | 84.52% | 35.1 (2019) |
| LATAM | 86.41% | 74.2 (2019) |
| Lufthansa | 73.96% | 145.3 (2019) |
| Qatar Airways | 80.32% | 32.4 (2019) |
| Turkish Airlines | 76.72% | 75.1 (2018) |
| United Airlines | 76.28% | 162 (2019) |
Fleet Benchmark
We wanted to know the overall fleet size and the aircraft types operated with the airline fleet benchmark. So here are the essential results:
- Most of the top airlines solely rely on Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
- The U.S. carriers (United, Delta, and American) operate the largest fleets.
- With 888 aircraft, American Airlines operates the world’s biggest aircraft fleet.
| Airline | Airbus | Boeing | Others | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 54 | — | — | 54 |
| Air France | 137 | 77 | — | 214 |
| American Airlines | 431 | 457 | — | 888 |
| Azul | 57 | — | 86 | 143 |
| British Airways | 164 | 91 | — | 255 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 409 | 175 | — | 584 |
| China Southern Airlines | 352 | 271 | 3 | 626 |
| Delta Air Lines | 345 | 434 | — | 779 |
| Emirates | 118 | 134 | — | 252 |
| KLM | 13 | 105 | — | 118 |
| LATAM | 253 | 76 | — | 329 |
| Lufthansa | 234 | 27 | — | 261 |
| Qatar Airways | 214 | 120 | — | 234 |
| Turkish Airlines | 183 | 182 | — | 365 |
| United Airlines | 191 | 633 | — | 824 |
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Social Media Benchmark
Social media is becoming increasingly important for airlines around the globe. Therefore, we also included essential social media figures: In terms of Instagram and Twitter, we analyzed the number of followers, whereas, in terms of Facebook, we gathered the number of page likes. Here are the key takeaways:
- With 2.3 million, KLM is the king of Twitter.
- Some of the airlines don’t focus on Twitter (e. g. China Southern Airlines or LATAM).
- Emirates and Qatar show exceptional results on Instagram with 5.5 resp. 3.4 million followers.
- Qatar is also the king of Facebook, with almost 22.5 million page likes.
| Airline | Twitter Follower | Instagram Follower | Facebook Page Likes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 1,800,000 | 361,000 | — |
| Air France | 378,000 | 1,098,000 | 7,300,000 |
| American Airlines | 1,650,000 | 1,097,000 | 2,580,000 |
| Azul | 368,000 | 856,000 | 4,100,000 |
| British Airways | 1,300,000 | 1,044,000 | 3,270,000 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 115,000 | 19,000 | 4,370,000 |
| China Southern Airlines | 44,500 | 235,000 | 10,220,000 |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,500,000 | 1,079,000 | 3,280,000 |
| Emirates | 1,400,000 | 5,500,000 | 10,730,000 |
| KLM | 2,300,000 | 1,300,000 | 14,200,000 |
| LATAM | 55,400 | 1,850,000 | 13,450,000 |
| Lufthansa | 267,000 | 1,400,000 | 3,900,000 |
| Qatar Airways | 1,680,000 | 3,400,000 | 22,400,000 |
| Turkish Airlines | 1,850,000 | 1,800,000 | 10,700,000 |
| United Airlines | 1,000,000 | 800,000 | 1,410,000 |
Safety & Quality Benchmark
To provide the most comprehensive airline benchmark, we also included safety and quality aspects. Therefore, we included the airlines’ Skytrax rank as one of the essential product quality indicators. Moreover, the eco score provides insights into the airline’s sustainability level. Finally, the safety index is based on JACDEC’s safety assessment and details an airline’s safety level. Again, here are the key takeaways:
- In terms of product quality, Qatar ranks 1st on Skytrax and accordingly 1st among the benchmarked airlines.
- Besides LATAM, airlines show a relatively week eco score.
- With 95.48%, Emirates is ranked the safest airline.
| Airline | Skytrax Rank | Eco Score (out of 100) | Safety Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | — | 58.1 | 82.25% |
| Air France | #23 | 54.5 | 84.32% |
| American Airlines | #74 | 58.7 | 84.48% |
| Azul | #50 | — | 85.09% |
| British Airways | #19 | 54.4 | 87.30% |
| China Eastern Airlines | #75 | 64.0 | 84.39% |
| China Southern Airlines | #14 | 60.3 | 86.40% |
| Delta Air Lines | #41 | 61.8 | 89.04% |
| Emirates | #5 | 36.4 | 95.48% |
| KLM | #18 | 68.9 | 91.89% |
| LATAM | #49 | 76.3 | 89.58% |
| Lufthansa | #9 | 56.9 | 87.35% |
| Qatar Airways | #1 | 46.4 | 89.12% |
| Turkish Airlines | #27 | 56.2 | 73.04% |
| United Airlines | #68 | 60.4 | 86.64% |
Corporate Benchmark
As the final part of the airline benchmark, we looked at corporate figures, such as the number of employees, revenue, and net income. Here are the key takeaways:
- American Airlines and the Lufthansa Group are the biggest airlines in terms of employees.
- Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Lufthansa are the biggest airlines in revenue.
- United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and British Airways show the strongest financial results regarding net income.
| Airline | Employees | Revenue ($ mil. 2019) | Net Income ($ mil. 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 13,000 | 3,571 | -123 |
| Air France | 84,000 | 19,44 | 321 |
| American Airlines | 133,000 | 45,768 | 1,686 |
| Azul | 13,000 | 2,370* | 181* |
| British Airways | 42,000 | 18,232 | 2,740 |
| China Eastern Airlines | 75,000 | — | 983** |
| China Southern Airlines | 100,000 | 21,701* | 1,140* |
| Delta Air Lines | 91,000 | 47,007 | 4,767 |
| Emirates | 60,000 | 25,1 | 288 |
| KLM | 35,000 | 13,380 | 1,056 |
| LATAM | 43,000 | 9,895 | 213 |
| Lufthansa | 130,000 | 43,970 | -1,460 |
| Qatar Airways | 50,000 | 14,04 | -1,930 |
| Turkish Airlines | 37,000 | 12,855 | 2,719 |
| United Airlines | 95,000 | 43,259 | 3,009 |
The most Comprehensive Airline Benchmark — Do you miss an Airline or Information?
Do you think we’ve missed an airline or important information? Leave us a comment below, and we’ll include it with the next update of the list.
