We reported yesterday that the transatlantic market is booming, with US-UK air travel performing at 99% of May 2019’s levels. These promising numbers are transcending throughout the industry, with global flight capacity anticipated to approach 98% of pre-COVID levels soon.
Exciting times
Worldwide capacity is set to hit a whopping 476 million seats this month. This figure is a 6.2% increase over April. Notably, 11 of 18 regions across the globe are now above 2019 levels. We are just awaiting Southern Africa, South East Asia, Southwest Pacific, Eastern Europe, and North America to join the fold.
With the likes of China only just relaxing restrictions at the turn of the year, we can expect several of these sectors to return to pre-pandemic levels soon in this next chapter. Summer 2023 is expected to be an action-packed period for carriers.
Thus, amid the uptick in flight operations, who are currently the busiest commercial airlines? Well, according to data provided by OAG, there is a clear winner.
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United States dominance
Regarding flight frequencies in May, American Airlines has a total of 166,520. The Texan outfit towers over its national and international counterparts.
US airlines take all four top spots. They are also seeing positive month-on-month changes. Like American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all have over 100,000 frequencies.
Meanwhile, Ryanair, in fifth place, provides 91,787 flights. Yet, unlike those across the pond, the carrier has witnessed significant growth compared to 2019.
As OAG notes:
“With the exception of Southwest who will operate 3.6% more flights this May than in 2019, the US majors have a range of between 14-19% below May 2019.”
China’s robust return is also evident within the top ten list. China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China all feature and have all seen an increase over this time four years ago.
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The top 10
The full breakdown of May 2023's busiest airlines is as follows:
|
Airline |
Frequencies |
Change vs. May 2019 |
Change vs. April 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
American Airlines |
166,520 |
-18.5% |
1.6% |
|
Delta Air Lines |
140,565 |
-16.7% |
3.7% |
|
United Airlines |
130,924 |
-14.3% |
4.7% |
|
Southwest Airlines |
125,285 |
3.6% |
5.4% |
|
Ryanair |
91,787 |
23.4% |
5.3% |
|
China Southern Airlines |
70,479 |
7.0% |
7.2% |
|
China Eastern Airlines |
70,154 |
5.4% |
8.0% |
|
IndiGo |
56,410 |
29.7% |
4.6% |
|
Easyjet |
51,508 |
-9.3% |
10.9% |
|
Air China |
49,758 |
17.5% |
6.5% |
As we can see, there are interesting shifts across the board. For instance, easyJet, saw a monthly spike of 10.9%, the highest on the list. However, it is still 9.3% behind its pre-pandemic operations - something fellow European low-cost powerhouse Ryanair’s leadership would be quick to point out!
With India continuing to grow its aviation market, IndiGo has witnessed the strongest four-year growth. It will operate 29.7% more flights than it did in May 2019 and 4.6% more flights over last month.
Overall, even though US airlines sit firmly in the top four, the North American market is still playing catch-up with itself. We can expect notable transformations by the time the Northern Hemisphere summer is over.
What are your thoughts about the world’s busiest airlines? What do you make of the overall state of the industry? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
Source: OAG