Have you ever thought about the largest airlines in America? We certainly have, so we’ve compiled a list that considers annual passenger numbers, daily flights, fleet size, and available destinations. While the top largest airlines in the US may be quite evident, we’re delving into just how substantial these carriers really are.
Here’s a brief overview of our findings:
- American Airlines flies the most passengers (by a significant margin).
- American Airlines provides the highest number of daily flights.
- American Airlines boasts the largest fleet.
- American Airlines covers the most destinations, closely followed by United Airlines.
In summary, American Airlines is the largest airline in the US across all metrics, although the other three airlines still deserve recognition. Let’s take a look at how they compare.
Overall Largest Airline in the US – American Airlines
Upon analyzing the data, a distinct frontrunner emerged: American Airlines. In the four categories we examined, American excelled in every single one. With over 210 million passengers transported in 2023, they also provided the highest number of daily flights.
Passenger volumes serve as a critical metric for identifying the largest airlines in the US, as this is often the benchmark people consider. Specifically, American Airlines transported 20 million more passengers than the second-largest airline.
The American Airlines Group regularly publishes its daily flight statistics, which include the flights operated by its regional affiliate, American Eagle. Their total amounts to 6,700 daily flights, but even when accounting for the 1,500 American Eagle flights, American Airlines still offers approximately 5,200 daily flights.
American Airlines currently operates a fleet of 1,558 aircraft. It takes a substantial number of planes to accommodate all those passengers! While they reach an extensive array of destinations, their operations primarily focus on routes within the United States, as their name implies.
This aviation giant shows no signs of slowing its growth. They are committed to maintaining their position as the leader in fleet size. On March 4, 2024, American announced plans to expand their fleet by adding an additional 260 aircraft. According to CEO Robert Isom:
In the past decade, we have made significant investments to modernize and simplify our fleet, making it the largest and youngest among U.S. network carriers.
The company’s CFO added:
We are very pleased to continue our longstanding partnerships with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer with these orders. As we look ahead to the next decade, American will have a consistent influx of new aircraft…
Alright, let’s see how this plays out!
More than 210 million passengers fly America’s largest airline each year.
They operate over 5,200 flights daily.
The airline has a total fleet of 1,558 aircraft.
They fly to over 350 destinations, many within the US.
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Delta Air Lines Takes the Second Spot
While Delta may come in second for the largest airlines in the US, they’re still huge. Even though their fleet is smaller at 1,271 planes, Delta transported the second highest number of passengers in 2023 at 190 million. On average they have over 4,000 daily flights, which is the lowest of the top 4 but still a lot.
Interestingly, Delta was actually rated as the most reliable US airline for 2024. So sometimes bigger isn’t always better. But if you do experience delays on any US carriers, it’s good to know your rights to compensation. We can help you file a claim if you don’t want to do it alone.
Over 190 million passengers a year.
More than 4,000 daily flights.
1,271 aircraft.
Over 290 worldwide destinations.
United Airlines Takes the Third Spot
When it comes to global reach, United flies to more countries than any other US airline – over 60 destinations worldwide. That’s impressive considering they carried the fewest passengers in 2023 out of the top 4 at 164 million. Just goes to show you don’t need the most passengers to have the biggest network!
United operates the second highest number of daily flights at over 4,500. They also have the second largest fleet at 1,444 planes. Domestically, passengers can choose from about 210 US cities and 120 international destinations.
Nearly 165 million passengers in 2023.
4,500 daily flights.
1,444 total aircraft.
Over 330 worldwide destinations.
If your United flight within the US or from Europe gets canceled or delayed, let us know and we can help submit a claim for compensation on your behalf.
Fourth biggest airline in the US – Southwest!
Hey there, let me tell you about the fourth biggest airline in the US – Southwest!
Now I know what you’re thinking, fourth place doesn’t sound that impressive. But don’t sleep on Southwest, they still carry a ton of passengers each year. In 2023 alone they flew over 170 million people, which would put them in third place if we only looked at that.
But when you factor in things like fleet size and number of daily flights, that’s where Southwest falls to number four. They’ve got the smallest fleet out of the big guys with only around 800 planes. And while their routes hit about 120 destinations mostly in the US, that’s less than others.
Where they keep up though is flights. Every day Southwest operates over 4,000 trips, which is about the same as Delta. So while they may have fewer planes and places to go, they sure get a lot of folks there!
In summary – Southwest transports nearly 172 million passengers per year on their 4,000 daily flights. They do it all with a fleet of around 821 aircraft serving over 120 destinations across North America. Not too shabby for the number four airline!
Biggest Airlines in the US – American and Delta
Now that we’ve covered the U.S. largest airlines, you know that American Airlines is by far the winner in terms of passengers, flights, and fleet. Will this information impact your future decisions when searching for air travel options? Larger airlines can mean the potential for more logistical problems, including flight cancellations, overbooking, and significant delays. Just make sure you choose wisely!
At Boletos barato Cheap flight tickets deals online, we hold even the largest airlines in the US accountable. So, if you encounter a flight interruption while traveling on any of these airlines, let our airline compensation experts help you claim flight delay compensation or get a flight cancellation payout. You don’t have to face these giants alone!
References –
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_airlines_in_North_America
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109993/largest-airlines-north-america-passengers/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/250577/domestic-market-share-of-leading-us-airlines/
- https://companiesmarketcap.com/airlines/largest-airlines-by-revenue/
