World Airline Report: Top Five Airlines by Fleet Size

The four US majors—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines—continue to dominate the world’s airline rankings by fleet size. Only China Eastern comes closest to these four but is still a distant fifth with 581 aircraft in service versus American’s 1,157.

American’s huge size comprises well over 250 regional aircraft, but also very large numbers of narrowbodies and over 100 widebodies, making it also the most diversified fleet.

Looking ahead via the number of aircraft on order gives a glimpse into how this size-by-fleet dynamic could change over the next 10 to 20 years. US orders will mostly be about replacement, while airlines in emerging and fast-growing markets like India have recently placed very large orders that are pegged against growth.

ATW Magazine July/August Edition

ATW Magaine's July/August edition will feature the exclusive Annual World Airline Report, including:

- Financials and traffic data for world’s 100 largest airlines
- Traffic data for world’s largest airports
- Fleet data for world’s 100 largest airlines
- Analysis of the airline industry status by geographic region

Find out more.