4 Biggest US Airlines - Largest Carriers in the United States

Written By Amy Lancelotte

6 minutes read
Last Updated: August 13, 2024

Have you ever wondered about America’s biggest airlines? We have, so we put together a list that takes into account annual passengers, daily flights, fleet size, and available destinations. Although the top 4 largest airlines in the US might be somewhat obvious, we’re getting to the bottom of just how big these carriers are.

Here’s a summary of what we found:

• American Airlines transports the highest number of passengers (by a long shot).
• American Airlines offers the most daily flights.
• American Airlines has the largest fleet.
• American Airlines serves the most destinations, with United a close second.

To make a long story short, American is the largest US airline by every metric, but the other 3 airlines are still worthy of mentioning. Let’s see how everything stacks up.

Overall Largest Airline in the US - American Airlines

After compiling the data, a clear winner emerged and that’s American Airlines. Of the 4 categories we reviewed, American didn’t fall short in a single one. They carried the most passengers in 2023 (over 210 million) and offered the most daily flights. 

Passenger volumes are probably the best indicator to determine the biggest US airlines, as that’s typically what people think of. In the case of American Airlines, they carried a full 20 million additional passengers than the next-biggest airline.

The American Airlines Group publishes daily flight numbers, and that includes the regional airline affiliate of American Eagle. Their total is 6,700 daily flights, but even after we remove the 1,500 American Eagle flights, American Airlines offers up to 5,200 daily flights. 

The American Airlines fleet size is currently 1,558 aircraft. It takes a lot of planes to transport all those passengers! They also reach the most destinations, although as their name suggests, their routes have a US focus.

This mammoth is showing no signs of slowing down, either. They’re doing their best to hold on to the top spot in fleet size. American announced on March 4, 2024, that they are adding a further 260 aircraft to their fleet. According to their CEO, Robert Isom:

Over the past decade, we have invested heavily to modernize and simplify our fleet, which is the largest and youngest among U.S. network carriers.

The company’s CFO also stated that:

We are very pleased to continue our longstanding partnerships with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer with these orders. As we look into the next decade, American will have a steady stream of new aircraft…

We’ll wait to see how the others respond!

• More than 210 million passengers annually.
• 5,200 daily flights.
• 1,558 total aircraft.
• 350+ destinations, many in the US.

Have you flown recently with America’s largest airline and experienced a delay of more than 3 hours?

Check here to see how much you can claim.

Check Your Flight

Free Instant Check

No Win, No Fee

98% Success Rate

The Second-Largest US Airline - Delta

Although Delta takes second place for the largest airlines in the U.S., that doesn’t mean their in any way small. Although the airline only has a fleet size of 1,271, Delta managed to transport the second-highest number of passengers in 2023, which was 190 million. On average, Delta Airlines has more than 4,000 daily flights, which is the lowest in the top 4, but still very respectable.

To take more of an overall view, Delta was actually our top US airline for 2024 and scored high points for reliability, so the biggest isn’t always better. But, if you do have issues with punctuality with any US airlines, it’s good to know what kind of compensation you’re entitled to. If you don’t want to go it alone, we can help you claim your US passenger rights.

• Over 190 million annual passengers.
• More than 4,000 daily flights.
• 1,271 aircraft.
• Over 290 worldwide destinations.

Third Place - United Airlines

When it comes to variety, United Airlines flies to more than 60 different countries. This is the most of any US-based carrier. As a result, United is in third place even though the airline carried the fewest passengers in 2023 of the top 4. Imagine not being anywhere near the largest US airline even though you flew over 164 million passengers!

United Airlines operates the second-highest number of daily flights (4,500+) and has a fleet of over 1,400 planes, also worthy of second place. As for the actual destinations, passengers can fly to at least 210 US cities and 120 international ones.

• Nearly 165 million passengers in 2023.
• 4,500 daily flights.
• 1,444 planes in total.
• 330+ destinations worldwide.

If your United Airlines flight within the US or from Europe is canceled or delayed, we can help you claim what you’re owed

Click here to start your quick and easy compensation claim!

Claim Compensation

Fourth-Biggest US Carrier - Southwest Airlines

Although Southwest takes the last spot in our top 4, the airline still deserves consideration when discussing America’s biggest airlines. To provide context, Southwest served over 170 million passengers in 2023. This is technically a third-place number, but other factors, such as fleet size, daily flights, and available destinations landed Southwest in fourth.

They have the smallest fleet with a little over 800 planes and have routes that reach about 120 (mostly domestic) destinations. As for daily flights, Southwest operates approximately the same number as Delta - over 4,000.

• Almost 172 million passengers per year.
• 4,000 flights daily.
• 821 aircraft.
• 120+ destinations in the US, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Largest US Airlines Data Summary

*Based on information directly from the airlines’ fact sheets and marketing materials.
**Using information from FlightRadar24.

Point Values

To determine the overall points for each of the top 4 airlines, we used 4 categories: annual passengers, number of daily flights, total fleet size, and reachable destinations. The airlines were ranked from 1-4, with 4 being the best and 1 being the worst. The higher the number of total points, the better. And since we deemed the number of annual passengers as the most important criterion, we assigned this category a 2x multiplier.

Biggest Airlines in the US - American and Delta

Now that we’ve covered the U.S. largest airlines, you know that American Airlines is by far the winner in terms of passengers, flights, and fleet. Will this information impact your future decisions when searching for air travel options? Larger airlines can mean the potential for more logistical problems, including flight cancellations, overbooking situations, and significant delays. Just make sure you choose wisely!

At AirAdvisor, we hold even the largest airlines in the US accountable. So, if you encounter a flight interruption while traveling on any of these airlines, let our airline compensation experts help you claim flight delay compensation or get a flight cancellation payout. You don’t have to face these giants alone!

Need help with a refund claim?

Enter your flight details and submit your claim in just 3 minutes risk-free.

Check Your Flight

FAQ: Biggest US Airlines