As every month, we’re delighted to present the world’s largest airlines. Once again, we counted flights and put together the essential ranking. Here’s what’s contained:
Results Summary
Global Top 20 Airlines
EMEA Top 20 Airlines
North America Top 10 Airlines
Latin America Top 10 Airlines
Summary
U.S. Airlines remain the only carriers with 100,000+ flights
Similar to the last months, the four big U.S. airlines remain the only airlines that operate more than 100,000 flights. Moreover, American Airlines is on its way back to pre-COVID figures and the 200,000 barrier.
European Airlines Recover
Finally, and much later than the U.S. and Chinese airlines, Europe’s top airlines have started to recover and added more flights to their schedule. As a result, many European airlines recorded growth rates of >30% in July.
European Low-Cost Airlines are Top Gainers
The biggest European low-cost airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet, and Wizz Air) recorded the highest growth rates in July. EasyJet adds 126% of additional flights compared to June, whereas Ryanair grew by 59% and Wizz Air by 54%. Spanish Vueling Airlines completes the list with a growth of 55%
Asian & Australian Airlines with Reduced Traffic
Probably due to the Delta-Variant, some Asian and Australian airlines published massive traffic reductions. Qantas lost almost 30% of its traffic, Virgin Australia 31%, and Jetstar 26%.
World’s Largest Airlines By Number of Flights — Global Top 20
EasyJet, Lufthansa, and Shenzhen Airlines are back on the list of the world’s largest airlines by the number of flights. EasyJet directly enters the list at position 12, whereas Lufthansa ranks 17th and Shenzhen 19th. Due to its massive growth, Ryanair surpasses Air China and China Express and ranks 6th. Moreover, no changes in the top five: American Airlines remains the world’s largest airline by the number of flights, followed by Delta, United, Southwest, and China Eastern.
Rank | IATA | Airline | Flights July ’21 | Change Prev. Month % |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | AA | American Airlines | 179,582 | 3.5 ![]() |
2 | DL | Delta Air Lines | 135,629 | 4.3 ![]() |
3 | UA | United Airlines | 126,129 | 18.1 ![]() |
4 | WN | Southwest Airlines | 106,325 | 5.6 ![]() |
5 | MU | China Eastern Airlines | 69,934 | 9.3 ![]() |
6 | FR | Ryanair | 60,997 | 59.0 ![]() |
7 | CA | Air China | 43,711 | 11.4 ![]() |
8 | G5 | China Express | 39,773 | 0.7 ![]() |
9 | TK | Turkish Airlines | 37,053 | 41.6 ![]() |
10 | AS | Alaska Airlines | 35,228 | 4.0 ![]() |
11 | 6E | IndiGo | 28,436 | 60.9 ![]() |
12 | U2 | EasyJet | 27,840 | 126.2 ![]() |
13 | B6 | JetBlue | 26,843 | 7.1 ![]() |
14 | LA | LATAM | 26,543 | 32.1 ![]() |
15 | SU | Aeroflot | 26,264 | 10.0 ![]() |
16 | AF | Air France | 25,001 | 10.8 ![]() |
17 | LH | Lufthansa | 24,085 | 49.7 ![]() |
18 | ZH | Shenzhen Airlines | 23,298 | 26.2 ![]() |
19 | HU | Hainan Airlines | 21,910 | 27.6 ![]() |
20 | MF | Xiamen Airlines | 21,814 | 10.3 ![]() |
World’s Largest Airlines By Number of Flights — EMEA
Similar to the last month, Ryanair remains EMEA’s largest airline. Moreover, Ryanair is Europe’s only airline that operates more than 50,000 flights. Nevertheless, and as already mentioned, many European carriers recorded massive growth rates in July. As a result, British Airways and Alitalia are also back in the top 20. However, worth mentioning that the big gulf carriers (Except Qatar Airways) are still not part of EMEA’s top 20 largest airlines.
Rank | IATA | Airline | Flights July ’21 | Change Prev. Month % |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FR | Ryanair | 60,997 | 59.0 ![]() |
2 | TK | Turkish Airlines | 37,053 | 41.6 ![]() |
3 | U2 | EasyJet | 27,840 | 126.2 ![]() |
4 | SU | Aeroflot | 26,264 | 10.0 ![]() |
5 | AF | Air France | 25,001 | 10.8 ![]() |
6 | LH | Lufthansa | 24,085 | 49.7 ![]() |
7 | W6 | Wizz Air | 17,624 | 54.0 ![]() |
8 | KL | KLM | 16,629 | 30.9 ![]() |
9 | PC | Pegasus Airlines | 16,098 | 34.0 ![]() |
10 | VY | Vueling | 15,697 | 55.4 ![]() |
11 | SV | Saudi Arabian Airlines | 13,759 | 12.2 ![]() |
12 | IB | Iberia | 13,396 | 28.9 ![]() |
13 | S7 | S7 Airlines | 13,284 | 5.4 ![]() |
14 | SK | SAS | 11,468 | 49.7 ![]() |
15 | QR | Qatar Airways | 11,375 | 16.8 ![]() |
16 | WF | Wideroe’s | 8,975 | 0.7 ![]() |
17 | EW | Eurowings | 8,658 | 65.0 ![]() |
18 | DP | Pobeda | 8,348 | 5.8 ![]() |
19 | BA | British Airways | 8,222 | 22.5 ![]() |
20 | AZ | Alitalia | 8,035 | 30.1 ![]() |
World’s Largest Airlines By Number of Flights — Asia
Most Asian airlines saw a reduced growth in July — especially compared to previous months. China Eastern Airlines remains the largest airline. Again, worth mentioning that China Southern data is not available. Due to COVID and the Delta-Variant, many Australian airlines were forced to reduce their traffic.
Rank | IATA | Airline | Flights July ’21 | Change Prev. Month % |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MU | China Eastern Airlines | 69,934 | 9.3 ![]() |
2 | CA | Air China | 43,711 | 11.4 ![]() |
3 | G5 | China Express | 39,773 | 0.7 ![]() |
4 | 6E | IndiGo | 28,436 | 60.9 ![]() |
5 | ZH | Shenzhen Airlines | 23,298 | 26.2 ![]() |
6 | HU | Hainan Airlines | 21,910 | 27.6 ![]() |
7 | MF | Xiamen Airlines | 21,814 | 10.3 ![]() |
8 | NH | All Nippon Airways | 21,647 | 10.4 ![]() |
9 | JL | Japan Airlines | 17,146 | 18.9 ![]() |
10 | 9C | Spring Airlines | 15,360 | 11.0 ![]() |
11 | NZ | Air New Zealand | 14,450 | 17.0 ![]() |
12 | QF | Qantas Airways | 11,209 | 29.2 ![]() |
13 | GS | TianJin Airlines | 9,093 | 11.8 ![]() |
14 | SG | SpiceJet | 8,909 | 33.2 ![]() |
15 | QG | Citilink | 8,190 | 1.1 ![]() |
16 | G8 | GoAir | 7,193 | 10.7 ![]() |
17 | AI | Air India | 6,396 | 11.1 ![]() |
18 | JQ | Jetstar Airways | 5,514 | 26.6 ![]() |
19 | VA | Virgin Australia | 5,347 | 30.9 ![]() |
20 | JT | Lion Air | 4,861 | 61.6 ![]() |
World’s Largest Airlines By Number of Flights — North America
From a ranking point of view, North America looks almost identical to the last month’s ranking. However, based on a 58% growth rate, Air Canada is back in the list of North America’s largest airlines by the number of flights. However, overall, growth rates seem to slow down.
Rank | IATA | Airline | Flights July ’21 | Change Prev. Month % |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | AA | American Airlines | 179,582 | 3.5 ![]() |
2 | DL | Delta Air Lines | 135,629 | 4.3 ![]() |
3 | UA | United Airlines | 126,129 | 18.1 ![]() |
4 | WN | Southwest Airlines | 106,325 | 5.6 ![]() |
5 | AS | Alaska Airlines | 35,228 | 4.0 ![]() |
6 | B6 | JetBlue | 26,843 | 7.1 ![]() |
7 | NK | Spirit Airlines | 21,588 | 15.5 ![]() |
8 | F9 | Frontier Airlines | 14,457 | 7.5 ![]() |
9 | G4 | Allegiant Air | 14,023 | 12.0 ![]() |
10 | AC | Air Canada | 13,634 | 58.3 ![]() |
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World’s Largest Airlines By Number of Flights — Latin America
Rank | IATA | Airline | No. Flights July ’21 | Change Prev. Month |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LA | LATAM | 26,543 | 32.1 ![]() |
2 | AD | Azul airlines | 20,655 | 19.9 ![]() |
3 | AM | Aeromexico | 14,549 | 14.4 ![]() |
4 | Y4 | Volaris | 13,871 | 9.2 ![]() |
5 | G3 | GOL | 12,684 | 54.6 ![]() |
6 | AV | Avianca | 11,244 | 11.4 ![]() |
7 | VB | Vivaaerobus | 9,674 | 16.5 ![]() |
8 | CM | Copa Airlines | 6,377 | 19.6 ![]() |
9 | VH | Viva Air Colombia | 3,410 | 6.6 ![]() |
10 | AR | Aerolineas Argentinas | 2,899 | 91.4 ![]() |
Used Data
The shown information is based on OAG data and internal data sources. Rankings only included airlines that operated more than 500 flights in the respective month. However, the global benchmark includes all tracked flights. On average, 200 airlines are included in each month’s analysis. Whenever stated, EMEA refers to airlines based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.
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