Summary
- Recently published data by OAG revealed that out of the top 20 largest airlines in terms of frequencies, only two had fewer flights in June 2023 than in June 2024.
- Ryanair was not the only airline outside the United States to make the list.
- American Airlines was the largest airline in terms of frequencies in June 2024.
The travel data company OAG unveiled the top 20 largest airlines by frequency in the world in June, detailing that out of the 20, only two airlines had fewer frequencies year-on-year (YoY), namely Air Canada and JetBlue. However, the other 18 airlines, including such companies as Air China, British Airways, China Southern Airlines, Lufthansa, LATAM Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and others, increased the amount of flying during the month, OAG data showed.
Still, only five of them topped the charts, with four of them being from the United States. The fifth airline was a European carrier, which has managed to beat other airlines within the continent by a postcode. Without further ado, these are the top five largest airlines in terms of frequencies globally:
5
Ryanair
YoY frequency growth: 9.8%
- Frequencies in June 2024: 102,316
- Frequencies in 2023: 93,212
Ryanair is the only airline not based in the US on the list, with the Irish low-cost carrier growing its monthly frequencies by 9.8% compared to June 2023. This June, the airline has scheduled 102,316 flights, compared to 93,212 flights during the same month a year prior. However, while OAG did not detail whether this includes the whole Ryanair group or only the Irish air operator’s certificate (AOC), data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that the airline’s Irish AOC had 102,302 flights during the month.
Photo: Oleh Yatskiv | Shutterstock
Adding other airlines from the group, including Ryanair’s United Kingdom AOC, the Ryanair Group would have 105,116 monthly frequencies. The group consists of five different AOCs: Ryanair (Ireland), Ryanair UK (UK), Malta Air (Malta), Lauda Europe (Malta), and Buzz (Poland).
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4
Southwest Airlines
YoY frequency growth: 4.1%
- Frequencies in June 2024: 127,415
- Frequencies in 2023: 122,377
While Southwest Airlines does not identify itself as a low-cost carrier, it has all the features to be classified as one. Still, Ryanair and Southwest Airlines are the only two no-frills airlines to be in the top five, with the latter having 127,415 frequencies during the month. The airline demonstrated growth of 4.1% YoY since last June, as it had 122,377 frequencies during the month. However, Southwest Airlines’ leadership admitted during the carrier’s Q1 analysts call that in order to turn around its financial well-being, it had to make network adjustments.
Photo: dorengo5 | Shutterstock
This had already resulted in lower capacity on Tuesday and Wednesday, a reduction in short-haul business markets, and a material reduction in flights during shoulder periods of the day. Furthermore, the airline said that it would exit four airports while reducing operations at two others, namely Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
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3
United Airlines
YoY frequency growth: 4.8%
- Frequencies in June 2024: 136,950
- Frequencies in 2023: 130,692
It has to be said that Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have also suffered from Boeing delivery delays, particularly when it comes to the 737 MAX. The latter airline, ranked third globally by frequencies in June, has been particularly vocal about Boeing’s failures to adhere to the contractual delivery schedule.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying
While speaking with reporters at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Scott Kirby, the chief executive officer (CEO) of United Airlines, stated that Boeing’s problems are structural. The CEO added that he did not know when the plane maker would be able to deliver the 737 MAX 10. Nevertheless, the airline has been able to add frequencies. In June 2023, the carrier’s monthly flights counted 130,692. Ch-aviation data showed that Airbus and Boeing delivered 71 aircraft between June 1, 2023, and June 13, 2024.
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2
Delta Air Lines
YoY frequency growth: 5.7%
- Frequencies in June 2024: 148,778
- Frequencies in 2023: 140,760
Steadily growing throughout the years, Delta Air Lines has once again demonstrated that it managed to increase its capacity YoY, with its frequencies growing by 5.7% to 148,778 in June 2024. The carrier, which has a lot of Airbus single-aisle aircraft, still has a significant portion of Boeing narrowbody jets in its fleet.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
And over the past year, namely between June 2023 and June 2024, only Airbus has delivered aircraft to Delta Air Lines, with ch-aviation records showing 47 deliveries. Still, in July 2022, Delta Air Lines ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft with 30 options, anticipating that deliveries would start in 2025.
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1
American Airlines
YoY frequency growth: 10.1%
- Frequencies in June 2024: 187,740
- Frequencies in 2023: 170,529
Similarly to Delta Air Lines, American Airlines has largely shielded itself from the problems that have plagued Boeing. While it does not necessarily mean that was the reason why the airline grew its monthly flights by 10.1% YoY, it certainly has helped the airline maintain capacity growth.
Photo: San Antonio International Airport
Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, remarked during the carrier’s annual shareholders meeting that what has protected the airline from the current supply chain issues was its $30 billion capital expenditure (CapEx) it has spent on new aircraft since 2014. While it still has plenty of Airbus and Boeing aircraft on order, Isom said that going forward, its CapEx was well-positioned, allowing the airline not to worry too much about ballooning its debt, which it has sought to reduce in recent years, especially after the pandemic.
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