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Data Spotlight: Key Airline Revenue, Aircraft Order Metrics
WORLD'S TOP AIRLINES BY REVENUE IN 2025
The world’s top 20 airlines in terms of annual revenue for 2025 demonstrated record-high results totaling just under $600 billion, 8% higher than the leading results in 2024 and 29% better than the top 20 in pre-pandemic 2019.
Delta Air Lines’ annual revenue reached $63.4 billion—3% higher than in 2024—marking a new industry record. Delta’s net income of $5 billion represented an 8% margin, two percentage points better than in 2024. The Atlanta-based carrier has led the world’s financial rankings for five consecutive years.
United Airlines, with $59.1 billion revenue, and American Airlines, with $54.6 billion, placed second and third, respectively, also retaining their rankings from the previous year. In fourth position is Lufthansa with $46.5 billion, which was once again the top non-US airline group in terms of financial performance. British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) placed fifth with $39 billion, advancing from its 2024 sixth place. Air France-KLM and Emirates Airline ranked sixth and seventh place, respectively. Another US major, Southwest Airlines, was in eighth position with a company-record revenue of $28.1 billion. Qatar Airways placed 12th and was the only airline in the top 20 to see a YoY revenue decrease that was 3% down from 2024.
Emirates and Ryanair led the table in terms of net margin, with both seeing 15% returns. Turkish Airlines followed with a net margin of 12%.
Meanwhile, Korean Air posted the largest YoY revenue increase, which was 61% above that of 2024. This exceptionally high spike can be explained by the carrier’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines, another Korean carrier, which is now included in Korean Air’s revenue total.
Air China and China Eastern both reported negative net results for the third year in a row, though they retained their ninth and tenth rankings in terms of revenue.
The overall trend for the world’s airlines suggests that while revenues are rising and demand for air travel remains strong, costs are also higher than ever. These are the results of wars, inflationary pressures, high fuel prices and increasing labor costs.
Before the outbreak of the war in Iran, IATA forecast that total revenues for the world’s airlines in 2026 would grow 4.5% YoY to the $1 trillion mark for a second consecutive year. Meanwhile, expenses growth was expected to be slightly lower at 4.3%, totaling $981 billion. In June, IATA said it expects collective airline profits this year to fall to $23 billion an original forecast of $41 billion, representing a 2% margin versus a hoped for 3.9% return. The sharp increase in jet fuel prices because of the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an important maritime transit channel for oil, has seriously lowered that expectation. Even if ceasefires hold, the Iran-US deal to end war upholds and the Strait re-opens, jet fuel prices are not expected to change that lowered forecast for airlines this year.
MAY GROSS COMMERCIAL ORDERS FOR AIRBUS AND BOEING
Commercial gross orders Airbus and Boeing in May reversed April’s activities. This time, Airbus significantly outpaced Boeing in new aircraft deals, securing 379 firm orders compared to Boeing’s 13.
Among headliner wins for Airbus was an order from LCC AirAsia that also made the airline the launch customer for a 160-seat high density variant of the A220.
AirAsia committed to 150 A220-300s, valued at approximately $19 billion at list prices, and the aircraft will be built at the Airbus facility in Mirabel, Canada. This represents the single largest order ever placed for the A220 and pushes total orders for the narrowbody to more than 1,000.
Also in May, China Southern Airlines ordered 102 Airbus A320neo family aircraft (23 A320neos and 79 A321neos), with deliveries scheduled to run from 2028 through 2032. China was a good market for Airbus through the month, with Xiamen Airlines placing an order for 35 A321neos, China Cargo committing to four A350F freighters, and Cathay Pacific ordering two more passenger versions of the A350.
Lufthansa, meanwhile, ordered 10 A350s, and Airbus logged an additional 70 A320neo family aircraft orders from undisclosed customers. Some of those customers might be disclosed at the Farnborough Air Show in July, although Airbus gave no indication of that.
Overall, for the first five months of 2026, Airbus reported 815 gross orders. After accounting for 53 cancellations, the net total was 762 aircraft. By the end of May, the manufacturer’s backlog stood at just under 9,000 units, maintaining its position as the industry leader in terms of outstanding orders.
May was a relatively quiet month for Boeing, which added 10 orders from Lufthansa for the 787. Lufthansa said the fuel- and emissions-efficient 787s and 10 additional A350s would be part of its overall fleet modernization plan that is focused on further reducing emissions.
Boeing also gained an order from travel and leisure operator TUI Group for a single 737 MAX. Europe-based TUI is an all-Boeing operator with a mix of 737s and 787s, including 27 MAX-8s. It also has more MAX-8s on order and 27 MAX-10s.
Boeing also announced two additional MAX orders from unidentified customers.
At the end of May, Boeing’s firm backlog stood at just under 6,650 aircraft, some 2,350 fewer than Airbus’s backlog.
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