Best Airlines of 2026
Filings-first passengers and revenue; China Big Three filter; IATA 2025 industry totals.
Main table: passengers from filings
Compiled 2026-08-12. Latest full-year filings. American says “approximately 224 million”; Delta says “more than 200 million”. Ryanair’s year ends 31 Mar 2026; everyone else is calendar 2025.
| # | Airline | Passengers | Definition | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American | ~224m | Boarded (incl. Eagle) | CY2025 |
| 2 | Ryanair | 208.4m | Carried | FY26 to 31 Mar 2026 |
| 3 | Delta | 200m+ | Customers served | CY2025 |
| 4 | United | 181.053m | Revenue passengers | CY2025 |
| 5 | China Southern | 173.731m | Passengers carried | CY2025 |
| 6 | Southwest | 168.334m | Enplaned | CY2025 |
| 7 | Air China | 160.597m | Passengers | CY2025 |
| 8 | China Eastern | 149.944m | Passengers carried | CY2025 |
| 9 | Lufthansa Passenger | 135.035m | Passenger airlines | CY2025 |
| 10 | IAG | 121.560m | Group passengers | CY2025 |
Southwest also reports 134.110m revenue passengers (−4.2%). United +4.3%; China Southern +5.46%; Air China +3.40%; China Eastern +6.67%; Lufthansa Passenger +3%; IAG −0.4%. Ryanair +4% vs FY25 200.2m.
Revenue
USD column uses €1 ≈ $1.08 and $1 ≈ CNY 7.2, same FX as the drinks ranking. Lufthansa and IAG are group totals.
| # | Airline | Reported | ~USD | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta | $63.364bn | $63.36bn | CY2025 |
| 2 | United | $59.070bn | $59.07bn | CY2025 |
| 3 | American | $54.633bn | $54.63bn | CY2025 |
| 4 | Lufthansa Group | €39.597bn | $42.76bn | CY2025 |
| 5 | IAG | €33.213bn | $35.87bn | CY2025 |
| 6 | Southwest | $28.063bn | $28.06bn | CY2025 |
| 7 | China Southern | CNY 182.256bn | $25.31bn | CY2025 |
| 8 | Air China | CNY 171.485bn | $23.82bn | CY2025 |
| 9 | China Eastern | CNY 139.941bn | $19.44bn | CY2025 |
| 10 | Ryanair | €15.54bn | $16.78bn | FY26 |
China Big Three
CAAC: 770 million industry passengers in 2025; 164.08 billion RTK (+10.5%). The three carriers total 484.27 million, about 62.9% of the industry figure.
| # | Airline | Pax | Revenue | LF | Pax YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China Southern | 173.731m | CNY 182.256bn | 85.74% | +5.46% |
| 2 | Air China | 160.597m | CNY 171.485bn | 81.88% | +3.40% |
| 3 | China Eastern | 149.944m | CNY 139.941bn | 85.86% | +6.67% |
Air China attributable loss CNY 1.788bn. China Eastern pretax profit CNY 274m.
How this ranking is put together
Passenger table: latest full-year heads from each filing, with the definition in the table. Revenue table: reported currency, then USD. China three is a filter. IATA industry totals sit after the source table. Name tiles for now. Default rows are S–D.
| Source | Date | What it tracks |
|---|---|---|
| American 2025 10-K | 31 Dec 2025 | ~224m boarded; $54.633bn |
| United FY2025 results | 20 Jan 2026 | 181.053m; $59.070bn |
| Delta FY2025 results | 13 Jan 2026 | 200m+; $63.364bn |
| Southwest FY2025 | CY2025 | 168.334m enplaned; $28.063bn |
| Ryanair FY26 results | to 31 Mar 2026 | 208.4m; €15.54bn |
| China Southern 2025 | CY2025 | 173.731m; CAAC 770m |
| Air China 2025 AR | CY2025 | 160.597m; CNY 171.485bn |
| China Eastern 2025 AR | CY2025 | 149.944m; CNY 139.941bn |
| Lufthansa Group KPIs | CY2025 | €39.597bn; 135.035m pax |
| IAG FY2025 results | CY2025 | 121.560m; €33.213bn |
| IATA 2025 traffic | 29 Jan 2026 | RPK +5.3%; PLF 83.6% |
Industry (IATA 2025)
World RPK +5.3%, ASK +5.2%, full-year PLF 83.6% (+0.1 ppt). Asia-Pacific RPK +7.8%; North America +0.4%.
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