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Ranked: The Largest Airlines in the U.S. by Market Share
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The U.S. is the world’s largest aviation market, both by airport connectivity and the number of flying passengers, but which airlines are carrying most of these travelers?
While dozens of airlines operate in the country, a handful of companies dominate the U.S. airspace, commanding a large share of the market.
This infographic highlights the largest airlines in the U.S. based on revenue passenger miles (RPMs), with the data coming from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and covering the 12 months ended November 2024. RPMs are calculated by multiplying the number of paying passengers by distance travelled, accounting for both passenger volume and distance flown.
America’s 10 Biggest Airlines
The “Big Four” of aviation—Delta, American, United, and Southwest Airlines—account for nearly 70% of the U.S. airline market. Furthermore, they are also some of the best airlines in the country, according to consumers.
Here’s how the top 10 U.S. airlines stack up by market share and revenue passenger miles in 2024:
| Rank | Airlines | Market Share | Revenue Passenger Miles (RPM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta | 17.8% | 142 billion |
| 2 | American | 17.5% | 139 billion |
| 3 | Southwest | 17.3% | 138 billion |
| 4 | United | 16.0% | 127 billion |
| 5 | Alaska | 6.1% | 49 billion |
| 6 | Spirit | 4.9% | 39 billion |
| 7 | JetBlue | 4.7% | 37 billion |
| 8 | Frontier | 3.5% | 28 billion |
| 9 | SkyWest | 2.4% | 19 billion |
| 10 | Hawaiian | 1.7% | 14 billion |
| n/a | Other | 8.1% | 64 billion |
Delta Airlines tops the market share rankings at 17.8% and is also the largest airline by revenues, totaling over $60 billion in 2024. American Airlines—the largest airline by fleet size globally—follows closely with a 17.5% share of the market.
Southwest, which exclusively flies only Boeing 737 jets, remains America’s largest low-cost carrier with a 17.3% market share. Meanwhile, ultra low-cost carriers like Spirit, JetBlue, and Frontier make up a combined 13% share of the market.
Overall, the top 10 largest airlines control more than 90% of the U.S. air travel market, underscoring the concentrated nature of the industry. This is partly down to the industry’s consolidation over the last two decades, with mergers like Delta-Northwest (2008), United-Continental (2010), and American-US Airways (2013) helping create today’s aviation giants.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
How reliable are the largest U.S. airlines? Check out America’s Most Reliable Airlines in 2024 on the Voronoi app to learn more.
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