15 years ago the first Airbus A380 flight with paying passengers took to the skies. Fast forward to today and the type is well on its way to a million passenger flights.

Any Airbus A380 fan knows Emirates has operated the most Airbus A380 flights. But just how many of the 850,000 Airbus A380 flights scheduled to date has the airline scheduled over the years, and how do the other airlines rank? Simple Flying decided to dig through data provided by airline schedule experts Cirium to find out.

Cirium schedule data from the A380's first scheduled passenger flight to the end of September 2022 is used for this analysis. Hi Fly's single wet lease Airbus A380 has been excluded from the ranking.

14 All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways, commonly known as just ANA, is the world's youngest Airbus A380, having taken delivery of its first jet as recently as 2019. Sadly, the airline hasn't had a chance to realize the A380's potential yet fully. Before the third of the three entered into service, ANA had to ground the fleet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the airline has only scheduled 872 Airbus A380 flights through the end of September 2022.

13 Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines began Airbus A380 operations in 2012, though the airline hasn't flown the type since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysian did attempt to sell its fleet of Airbus A380s via LinkedIn, but all the evidence suggests that there were no suitable bidders. Over eight years of operations, Malaysia Airlines operated 12,485 Airbus A380 flights, according to Cirium's data.

12 Asiana Airlines

Asiana Airlines is the second airline on our list that is still flying the giant of the skies, launching flights in 2014. In September 2019, the airline planned over 150 rotations with daily flights to Bangkok (BKK), Frankfurt (FRA), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX). Twenty cycles were planned to Hong Kong (HKG), seven to Taipei (TPE), and five to Tokyo (NRT). In comparison, this year, the aircraft operated a daily flight to Bangkok and flew to Los Angeles every other day. Ch-aviation.com data suggest three of the six Airbus A380s are presently active. To the end of September, Asiana Airlines had scheduled 16,316 Airbus A380 flights.

11 China Southern Airlines

China Southern Airlines was the only airline to continue flying the Airbus A380 right throughout the pandemic. However, while many carriers are now bringing the A380 back, China Southern is heading in the opposite direction. The airline is sunsetting the fleet, with two aircraft already having been sent on their final flights. The first China Southern A380 flights took place in 2011, with operations peaking at 2,771 flights in 2019. This gives China Southern a schedule of 22,063 Airbus A380 flights.

10 Thai Airways

Thai Airways is the second of four carriers on our list that haven't committed to bringing the Airbus A380 back to service, and it looks unlikely that it will. Its six A380s are all grounded in Thailand, having last flown in early 2020. Between the entry to service in 2012 and the last flight in 2020, the airline operated 23,432 Airbus A380 flights. This puts it just short of the number nine spot.

9 Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways Airbus A380s were known for their top passenger offering known as "The Residence", a one-to-two-seat private apartment in the sky complete with shower, double bed, and luxurious service. There have been whispers that the A380 might one day return, with CEO Tony Douglas refusing to rule a return out. However, until the jet's return, the airline will be stuck at 23,520 Airbus A380 flights, having last flown the plane in early 2020.

8 Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has operated Airbus A380 flights every year since 2014. The airline's CEO, Akbar Al Baker, would have been quite happy to leave the jet grounded after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with many of his Airbus A350s out of action, he had no choice but to bring back the quadjet. This was something he said he was reluctant to do. With 2,521 flights in the first nine months of 2022, Qatar Airways has scheduled 28,625 Airbus A380 flights.

7 British Airways

Though British Airways' parent company, IAG, is partly owned by Qatar Airways, its opinion on the Airbus A380 couldn't be more different. British Airways happily brought its Airbus A380 fleet back a year ago and has signaled it will keep all 12 of its aircraft in the skies until at least 2027. Since its introduction in 2013, British Airways has scheduled 32,483 Airbus A380 flights.

6 Korean Air

Korean Air quickly brought back a single Airbus A380 that operated short-haul flights roughly once a week. Now, the aircraft type is being flown a little more, with almost three times as many flights being operated by the airline from January to September as the whole of 2021. Since 2011, Asiana Airlines has scheduled 34,367 Airbus A380 flights.

5 Air France

Air France was the first airline to call time on the Airbus A380, announcing plans to retire its entire A380 fleet before the pandemic's start. When the fleet was grounded in 2020, the airline decided it was cheaper to retire them early than store them for a short return later down the road. Today, most of the aircraft remain in storage, with four listed for operating lease or sale on My Air Trade. Air France scheduled 40,383 Airbus A380 flights between 2009 and 2020.

4 Qantas

Australia's flag carrier was mid-way through refurbishing its fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. As Australia reopened, Qantas began removing the giant jet from storage, with four of 12 Airbus A380s back in service. One of the twelve has been scrapped in Victorville. Qantas has scheduled 40,383 Airbus A380 flights since the type's Australian debut in late 2008.

3 Lufthansa

Despite not flying the Airbus A380 since the start of the pandemic and not taking its first A380 until 2010, Lufthansa reached the top three with its fleet of 14 Airbus A380s. Earlier this year, the German flag carrier revealed that the giant of the skies would return to the Lufthansa fleet next summer, though details of the type's return remain thin. Between 2010 and 2022, the airline scheduled 51,454 Airbus A380 flights.

2 Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines takes the number two spot, and it's no surprise. The airline was the first to take delivery of the Airbus A380 and operated the second-largest A380 fleet. Today it has trimmed its fleet somewhat, with British Airways having more scheduled flights so far this year. Singapore Airlines is one of only two airlines to have broken the 100,000 flight barrier, with 105,712 Airbus A380 flights scheduled up to the end of September.

1 Emirates

Last but not least is, of course, Dubai-based Emirates. The airline took 123 Airbus A380s from Airbus, though seven are already listed as "historic" by ch-aviation, with 76 listed as active. The airline has over 60,000 seats installed across its Airbus A380 fleet, and in the single year of 2018, it scheduled over 61,000 flights. In total, the airline has scheduled 410,764 Airbus A380 flights, almost half the total number of A380 flights planned to date.

Were you aware that so many Airbus A380 flights had taken place? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!

Sources: My Air Trade, Cirium, ch-aviation.com