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News / The world's largest airlines by number of flights: August 2023 edition
US and Chinese airlines dominate the top spots thanks to their huge domestic markets
The world has 3.22 million scheduled flights planned in August, according to Cirium data – around 104,000 daily. That is 10.65% more than in August 2022 but 6.55% lower than in 2019. More than 330 airlines have 1,000+ flights, with these the top 10.
The world's top airlines: August
Thanks to massive domestic networks, it is no surprise that US airlines take the first top four spots: they usually do. Domestic operations also explain the presence of three Chinese carriers and IndiGo.
IndiGo ranked 11th globally in August 2019, with fast growth – its flights are up by a quarter – pushing into the top 10. Its 104-strong airport portfolio includes Tbilisi, set to welcome the carrier from Delhi, its busiest airport, on August 8th. Baku, also from Delhi, starts three days later.
Rank | Airline | August flights* | Airports served | Busiest airport |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American | 179,500 | 335 | Dallas Fort Worth |
2 | Delta | 146,100 | 290 | Atlanta |
3 | United | 136,400 | 336 | Chicago O'Hare |
4 | Southwest | 128,300 | 121 | Denver |
5 | Ryanair | 102,000 | 228 | London Stansted |
6 | China Southern | 76,500 | 215 | Guangzhou |
7 | China Eastern | 76,000 | 208 | Kunming** |
8 | IndiGo | 58,000 | 104 | Delhi |
9 | easyJet | 55,500 | 145 | London Gatwick |
10 | Air China | 52,700 | 185 | Beijing Capital |
* Rounded to the nearest hundred | ** Shanghai Pudong is close |
American: one in every 18 flights
American is the world's largest airline by multiple measures, including passengers, flights, seats for sale, fleet, and more. According to ch-aviation.com, the carrier, and its regional partner, have nearly 1,400 aircraft (not all are active).
Analysis of American's schedules using Cirium shows that it has nearly 1,100 routes in August, of which about 839 are domestic. If flights are considered, Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles is its most-served. It has 448 August departures (double for both ways), with up to 15 daily, mainly using the A321ceo.
Ryanair stands out
The ULCC is the world's fifth largest airline by this measure, helped by flights increasing by more than a third versus 2019 from an already high base. Unlike most others in the top 10, Ryanair's dominance comes from being an international operator: 83.75% of its August flights are international. Imagine how much smaller it – and easyJet – would be without EU open skies.
Air Canada still out of the top 10
While Air Canada was the world's ninth-largest airline by flights in August 2019, Cirium shows it is now 16th overall. The likes of Turkish Airlines, LATAM, Lufthansa, All Nippon, and Alaska Airlines have overtaken it.
Air Canada's flights remain down by 31.41%, nearly five times less recovered than the global average. This is primarily because of the domestic market (-39.72%), with international – while still down considerably – twice as recovered (-19.63%).
