Which Airlines Operate The Most Transatlantic Narrowbody Flights?

Travel demand and options between North America and Europe are fierce, with a growing list of carriers offering services between these two heavily populated regions. While the legacy routes of the likes of London to New York, Amsterdam to Atlanta, or Paris to Boston will always remain, an increasing number of other point-to-point destinations continue to steal the limelight and provide easy nonstop journeys for many Americans and Europeans.

While it is usually expected that when traveling across the Atlantic would mean that you’re onboard a widebody aircraft, such as the Airbus A350, A330, or Boeing 777, 767, or 787, there is an increasing number of narrowbody flights, which proves as a lucrative choice for airlines on leisure focussed, or routes that do not suffice enough demand for a larger aircraft. According to data retrieved from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, identified in July, 13 carriers will serve transatlantic narrowbody flights with 100 services or more. This article will look at the finer details and break down the list.

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Icelandair, the airline that uses its geographical location as a practical launchpad for services to mainland Europe and North America, is no surprise as the pack’s leader. From its hub at Keflavik International Airport, the airline has continued to defy all odds as a popular choice. It serves the major centers and an increasing number of other gateways, such as Hamburg or Portland.

Icelandair

Topping the list, Icelandair will cash in over the Northern Hemisphere summer travel period, with 1,283 flights to and from Keflavik to North America this month, which represents 225,849 seats available for purchase. For those who read in available seat miles (ASMs), the number of seat miles available for an airline’s sale is 671,847,120.

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United and American Airlines are, unsurprisingly, the leading carriers.

Only two carriers with 1,000 flights or more

While Icelandair steals the limelight as the most popular carrier with narrowbody services to North America, one more carrier will operate over 1,000 services: the Chicago-based Star Alliance founding member.

United Airlines

One thousand seventy-seven available flights are set to arrive or depart in Europe or the United States with United Airlines. Some of these services onboard the 757 include Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), the popular sunny spots of Tenerife South (TFS), in the Canary Islands, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, Porto (OPO), Portugal or Edinburgh International Airport (EDI), in Scotland is just a tiny selection where the carrier deploys it’s classic Boeing 757 narrowbody to Europe. In number, United will services this July include:

Transatlantic travel this July

Continuing through the top ten, are there other airlines that might surprise you?

JetBlue

A relatively new player in the transatlantic market, JetBlue only launched its hop across the pond in 2021, when it commenced direct services between New York and London. Its network has expanded and now features Edinburgh, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Air Transat

The little Canadian airline that could. While many may not be familiar with Air Transat, the name is prominent in Canada. This predominantly leisure-focused airline has an extensive network to and from Canada to Europe and ramps up several services across the summer. The airline uses its unique demand to leverage extensive operations to the Caribbean from Canada in the northern winter before switching aircraft to operate in Europe during the summer months.

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Based in Montreal, Air Transat operates the most transatlantic services from Montreal Trudeau Elliot International Airport (YUL) or Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).

TAP Air Portugal

Given its geographical location, TAP Air Portugal focuses its long-haul network in Africa and North and South America. The airline’s Airbus A321neo fleet is utilized on Porto to New York routes, Lisbon to Boston, Newark, and Washington Dulles.

Photo: Sockagphoto / Shutterstock

Not quite the top five

While the following carriers don’t make the top five, they still deserve a notable mention. They are the only carriers with 100 flights or more this July.

Photo: Peter Krocka | Shutterstock

Not only does Aer Lingus operate both narrowbody and widebody aircraft transatlantic from Dublin and Shannon, but it also has the added benefit of United States pre-clearance at both the two major Irish airports. United also cashes in on this, with its services to Shannon, Chicago, and Dublin, Washington deploying narrow-bodies on the route.

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Examined: United Airlines’ Top 5 Transatlantic Boeing 757 Routes By Available Seat Miles

The carrier is the only airline to operate all but one of the routes.

Have you traveled transatlantic on a narrowbody before? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.