The world has 3.22 million scheduled flights planned in August, according
to Cirium data. This equates to around 104,000 daily. That is 10.65% more than
in August 2022 but still 6.55% lower than in 2019. More than 330 airlines
have over 1,000 flights - and in this video, we’ll examine the top 10. Let’s get started!
Thanks to massive domestic networks, it is no surprise that US airlines take the
first top four spots: they usually do. Domestic operations also explain
the presence of three Chinese carriers and IndiGo of India.
Indeed, IndiGo ranked 11th globally in August 2019, with fast growth:
Its flights are up by a quarter – pushing into the top 10. Its 104-strong airport portfolio includes
Tbilisi (Georgia) from August 8th, set to welcome the carrier from Delhi, its busiest airport,.
IndiGo service to Baku, also from Delhi, starts three days after.
Shown here is the list of the largest airlines based on the number of flights in August 2023.
As you can see, American Airlines tops the list. The oneworld alliance member is the
world's largest airline by multiple measures, including passengers carried, flights offered,
seats for sale, aircraft fleet size, and more. According to ch-aviation.com, the carrier,
and its regional partners, have nearly 1,400 aircraft (although not all are active).
To put American's domination in perspective,
one in 18 of the world's flights is by the carrier. That might not sound much in itself,
but it is enormous. Still, its services are 14.28% lower than in August 2019.
Analysis of American's schedules using Cirium shows that it has nearly 1,100
routes in August, of which about 839 are domestic.
If flights are considered, Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles is the carrier’s most-served. On this
city pair, it has 448 August roundtrip flights, with up to 15 daily, mainly using the A321ceo.
Ryanair still stands out. The ultra low cost carrier is the
world's fifth largest airline by this measure. This is helped by
flights increasing by more than a third versus 2019 from an already high base.
Unlike most others in the top 10, Ryanair's dominance comes from being
an international operator: 83.75% of its August flights are international. Imagine
how much smaller it – and easyJet – would be without the EU open skies agreement!
Canada’s largest carrier is notably outside of our list.
While Air Canada was the world's ninth-largest airline by flights in
August 2019, Cirium shows it is now 16th overall. The likes of Turkish Airlines,
LATAM, Lufthansa, All Nippon, and Alaska Airlines have overtaken it.
Air Canada's flights remain down by a whopping 31.41%, nearly five times less recovered than
the global average. This is primarily because of the domestic market (which is down 39.72%).
The airline’s international activity is also down
considerably though not as much as domestic. Down 19.63% from 2019.
Which of the airlines on the list have you flown? Share your experiences by leaving a comment!