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),[1] revenue seat miles (RPM),[2] mainline fleet size,[3] the number of both mainline employees[4] and destinations served;[5] Delta Air Lines was the most valuable by revenue, assets, market capitalization, and brand value;[6] 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.[7]
Financials
Revenue
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. Qatar Airways Group is similarly privately held with its 2024 revenue of around $22.2B (with Emirates included).
Earnings
Market capitalization (April 2026)
Brand value
Capacity
Airlines by available seat miles (ASMs)
Numbers are listed in billions of available seat miles.
Airline groups by available seat kilometers (ASKs)
Numbers are listed in billions of ASKs.
Airline groups by passengers (millions)
Freight (millions of CTK)
Fleet size
Aircraft operated (February 2026)
Aircraft owned (July 2023)
Network
Destinations served (April 2026)
Countries served (June 2025)
Flights daily (March 2025)
Routes served (August 2025)
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
References
- The World's Largest Global Airlines in April 2024^
- Infographic: How the Four Biggest U.S. Airlines Compare 26 July 2024^
- United claims 'world's largest' mainline fleet following milestone aircraft delivery^
- Form 10k, United Airlines, 2024^
- United Airlines - ch-aviation^
- Threads^
- Turkish Airlines - ch-aviation^
- Top publicly traded airlines by revenue companiesmarketcap.com, retrieved 2026-04-18^
- Top publicly traded airlines by earnings companiesmarketcap.com, retrieved 2026-04-18^
- Largest airlines by market cap companiesmarketcap.com, retrieved 2026-04-18^
- Airlines 50 2025 Brand Finance, Brandirectory, retrieved 6 June 2025^
- https://ir.united.com/static-files/3325136f-9671-4f16-9ffa-bf8ba8449a88^
- Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - American Airlines Group Inc.^
- Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Delta Air Lines, Inc.^
- Annual report 2022-2023^
- Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Southwest Airlines Co.^
- Qatar Airways: Available seat kilometers 2024^
- Ryanair Group - Annual report 2024^
- 2023 Annual Results www.csair.com^
- Turkish Airlines Fact Sheet investor.turkishairlines.com^
- 2023 Annual Report China Eastern^
- Cirium Airline Passenger Rankings for 2021 September 2022, retrieved 2023-01-15^
- Airline top 100 2022 Airfinance Journal, retrieved 26 June 2023^
- Airlines, Airports and Airliners 2020 full year results France Aviation Civile Services, April 2021, retrieved 29 July 2023^
- 2023 World Airline Report: Airline Traffic Table Air Transport World, Aviation Week Network, 4 August 2023^
- Traffic table Flight Global, retrieved 18 December 2023^
- Traffic table Flight Global, 2020^
- Traffic rankings Flight Global, 2019^
- World Airline Rankings Flight Global, 2019^
- Top 25 cargo airlines: Major Gains in 2024 3 September 2025^
- A public showcase of Cirium's Airline & Lessor profiles^
- https://americanairlines.gcs-web.com/static-fi/9fae85f6-eafd-4b11-ae37-5c302871a245^
- Company Profile - China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd csair.com www.csair.com, retrieved 2025-09-01^
- China Eastern About China Eastern^
- Our Fleet^
- Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934 - Skywest, Inc.^
- Turkish Airlines - Investor Relations^
- Air China Limited 2025 Interim Results^
- Airline top 100 2023 Airfinance Journal^
- United Airlines on ch-aviation^
- American Airlines ch-aviation^
- Delta Air Lines ch-aviation^
- Turkish Airlines ch-aviation.com^
- China Southern Airlines ch-aviation^
- China Eastern Airlines ch-aviation^
- Ryanair Q3 FY26 Results 26 Jan 2026^
- Air China ch-aviation^
- British Airways ch-aviation^
- Lufthansa ch-aviation^
- Turkish Airlines ch-aviation^
- Qatar Airways ch-aviation^
- Ethiopian Airlines ch-aviation^
- Air France ch-aviation^
- Emirates ch-aviation^
- British Airways ch-aviation, retrieved 29 August 2024^
- United Airlines ch-aviation, retrieved 29 August 2024^
- Lufthansa ch-aviation, retrieved 29 August 2024^
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines ch-aviation^
- American Airlines ch-aviation, retrieved 29 August 2024^
- Top 100 biggest airlines by number of daily departures flightsfrom.com, retrieved 29 August 2024^
- Southwest Airlines ch-aviation^
- Ryanair ch-aviation^
- American Airlines on ch-aviation^
- Delta Air Lines on ch-aviation ch-aviation^
- China Eastern Airlines on ch-aviation^
- China Southern Airlines on ch-aviation^
- Air China on ch-aviation^
- Turkish Airlines on ch-aviation ch-aviation^