Summary
- Ryanair is the world’s largest international operator.
- Given EU open skies, some readers may feel pan-European giants shouldn’t be included.
- American Airlines ranks eighth globally, and United Airlines ninth.
Approximately 500 airlines worldwide have international flights this week (June 13-19). Analyzing OAG schedule data shows that they collectively have around 253,000 two-way flights. The top 10 operators, the subject of this article, are so big and dominant that they account for nearly one in three international services.
The top 10 international airlines
The following table summarizes them. All units, such as Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Hungary, Wizz Air UK, and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, are combined. However, other airlines within a broader Group, such as Brussels Airlines within the Lufthansa Group, are not amalgamated.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Some readers may not like European giants Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air being included. After all, a large chunk of their networks revolve around EU open skies. And while the UK, vital to these three carriers, is no longer part of the EU, it has a very loose relationship with it for aviation.
Readers may say that the EU is effectively a domestic market as EU-registered airlines can fly anywhere within the bloc. However, since flights are still between separate countries, they are international.
Photo: easyJet
If we were to rule out the low-cost and ultra-low-cost giants for this reason, the top ranking would go to Lufthansa. Its international presence is not just attributable to its vast size but also driven by the diminishing size of the German domestic air market.
Some readers may say that it is somewhat unfair to include European carriers given the relatively small – at times even nonexistent – domestic markets, ensuring international flights are a disproportionately large part of their network. However, as this article concerns the number of international flights and the scale of activity, the point is less relevant.
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As usual, other measures, such as seats for sale and available seat miles, would change the rankings considerably.
|
Airline |
International flights*: June 13-19 |
% of its total flights |
|---|---|---|
|
Ryanair |
20,618 |
84% |
|
easyJet |
10,132 |
80% |
|
Lufthansa |
6,842 |
76% |
|
Wizz Air |
6,075 |
99% |
|
Turkish Airlines |
5,688 |
68% |
|
British Airways |
5,288 |
86% |
|
KLM |
5,008 |
100% |
|
American Airlines |
4,768 |
11% |
|
United Airlines |
4,630 |
14% |
|
Air France |
4,143 |
69% |
|
* Two-ways combined |
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Ryanair’s international network
The ultra-low-cost carrier operates about one in 12 of the world’s international flights. Given that it is just one airline, albeit with 593 aircraft, that is impressive. But when easyJet and Wizz Air are included, the trio has one in seven international services.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Examining Ryanair’s entire network shows more than 2,325 international routes in the seven days analyzed. They span 226 airports in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Routes cover an average of 798 nautical miles (1,472 km), helping to ensure more sectors per aircraft per day and, therefore, higher productivity in this sense.
Image: OAG
Ryanair’s average frequency on these routes is four times weekly. The airline serves some 398 international airport pairs daily or more, and 92 operate at least twice daily. In contrast, 156 routes see the airline weekly.
What of its five most-served international routes? Unsurprisingly, they are nearly all between Ireland and the UK. Dublin to London Stansted is first (56 weekly flights each way; eight daily), followed by Dublin-London Gatwick (52 weekly; seven to eight daily); Dublin-Manchester (41 weekly; five to seven daily); Dublin-Liverpool (35 weekly; five daily); and, to break the trend, Cologne-Palma (32 weekly; four to five daily).
What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments section.