371.1 million passengers boarded the listed U.S. airlines domestically in 2021, with the majority of enplaned passengers riding with Southwest Airlines, which had 120.7 million domestic enplanements in that year.   Southwest Airlines: additional information    Southwest Airlines was the airline with the most enplanements each year since 2011, with Delta Air Lines consistently coming in second until 2020 when American Airlines took the second spot. In 2021, Southwest Airlines had a customer satisfaction index score above the average for American airline companies.  The worst year in air traffic    Passenger air travel has been growing yearly since 2009, a trend estimated to continue through 2020 until the coronavirus pandemic happened, erasing two decades of passenger traffic growth in only a few months. This can also be seen in the number of domestic passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines - Southwest Airlines transported 58 percent less passengers in 2020 than it did in 2019.

Southwest Airlines carried around *** million paying passengers in 2024. This was a significant increase compared to the last four years, when passenger numbers had been impacted by travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a total fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as 10 near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. It also provides inflight entertainment and connectivity services on Wi-Fi enabled aircrafts; and Rapid Rewards loyalty program that enables program members to earn points for dollars spent on Southwest base fares. In addition, the company offers a suite of digital platforms to support customers' travel needs, including websites and apps; and SWABIZ, an online booking tool. Further, it provides ancillary services, such as Southwest's EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a total fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as 10 near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. It also provides inflight entertainment and connectivity services on Wi-Fi enabled aircrafts; and Rapid Rewards loyalty program that enables program members to earn points for dollars spent on Southwest base fares. In addition, the company offers a suite of digital platforms to support customers' travel needs, including websites and apps; and SWABIZ, an online booking tool. Further, it provides ancillary services, such as Southwest's EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

United Airlines, founded in 1926 as Varney Air Lines, is one of the four major air carriers in the United States, with a domestic market share of *** percent in 2021. United Airlines in the U.S. In 2010, United Airlines merged with Continental Airlines, following discussions started in 2008, and changed its name to United Continental Holdings to reflect the merger agreement into one of the world’s largest airlines. The airline brought in over **** billion U.S. dollars in revenue from its Canadian and domestic routes in 2021. Its largest hub, Denver International, handled *** million passengers that year. United Airlines in the worldDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline generated only **** billion U.S. dollars in operating revenue and transported only ***** million passengers worldwide in 2021. The company is often amongst the leading airlines in the world in terms of ancillary revenue, passenger kilometers flown or brand value. United Airlines is one of the world’s largest airline when it comes to the number of destinations served – *** destinations as of August 2022.

In 2024, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were the leading airlines in the U.S., with a domestic market share of 21 percent. That year, American Airlines had the second-largest market share of 20 percent. U.S. airlines' domestic market share The passenger air transportation market is a thriving industry, taking individuals to locations around the globe. American Airlines was the third largest airline in the North America based on operating revenue, reaching nearly 40.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Passenger airlines can face much scrutiny for their passenger satisfaction and comfort. A 2025 North American Airline Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power & Associates listed Southwest Airlines as the best long-haul, closely followed by low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are the top-ranked airlines based on 2024 domestic market share. Delta operates out of Atlanta, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta’s hub, sees the most passenger traffic in the United States. Chicago-headquartered United Airlines is a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings. United has flights to 210 domestic destinations and 120 destinations internationally.

This statistic illustrates the airlines with the biggest fleets in the world in 2021. In that year, American Airlines was the airline with the biggest fleet size, with *** aircraft in its fleet during that period. The aviation market in the U.S. The United States experienced a flourishing growth of the aviation industry throughout the 20th century. This expansion of the aviation market continued at a positive pace since the beginning of the 2000s. For example, the number of air traffic passengers traveling to or from the United States increased by roughly 100 million passengers between 2006 and 2018, reaching approximately *** million passengers. From 2007 to 2019, the U.S. air traffic passenger-miles increased, reaching *** billion passenger-miles in 2019. There are many airline groups in the U.S., many of which are world leaders. As of ********, Delta Air Lines had over ** billion U.S. dollars in market value. It is interesting to observe that the second and third largest airlines by market value were Southwest and Ryanair globally. Nonetheless, low-cost carriers are not in the list of leading airlines by brand value because the brand value is determined mostly by the satisfaction of a corporation’s stakeholders, such as passengers, punctuality and many other factors. This is because low-cost carriers cannot satisfy, for instance, the passenger experience as good as traditional carriers due to the cost-minimizing strategies from which customers benefit. Changing dynamics in the aviation market Through multitude efficiency-maximizing and cost-minimizing strategies, low-cost carriers (LCCs) are becoming the leading market participants in global aviation. Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are leading in North America based on the number of passengers in 2019. Due to high attractive fare prices, travelers have a high incentive to fly with LCCs and save money for different purposes. Between the fiscal year 2010 and 2019, the operating revenue of Southwest Airlines increased from ** billion U.S. dollars to ** billion U.S. dollars. In terms of market share, low-cost carriers increased globally in the overall aviation market, squeezing the traditional aviation. The global market size of the LCCs is forecasted to reach roughly *** billion U.S. dollars by 2025. This suggests an exponential rate of increase, higher than the overall aviation market size . Thus, implying a high growth in the market share of LCCs.

In 2020, there were about ***** aircraft in the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet. This figure is forecasted to decrease to ***** aircraft in 2021. Aviation in the U.S. Established in the 1920s, the U.S. aviation industry grew at an exponential rate since *****. Aviation industry’s growth in the U.S. intensified additionally as a result of the need to travel more and less well-advanced other public transport methods, such as trains or busses. As of 2019, the U.S. has the most connected aviation industry worldwide, which was based on a composite measure for the global air transport network. Development of the aviation industry continues to surge in the country at a rapid pace. Since 2004 the revenue streams of U.S. airlines grew by *** billion U.S. dollars, reaching over *** billion U.S. dollars in 2019. In 2019, Southwest Airlines was the leading airline in the U.S. by brand index, which is based on overall brand health as a weighted average of quality, value, satisfaction and reputation. Southwest Airlines Founded in 1967 and based in Dallas, Texas, Southwest Airlines is the largest low-cost carrier (LCC) worldwide. When it was established, the company went through an arduous procedure before becoming a major firm for air transportation in the U.S. Yet, LCC’s high cost and service effectiveness business model was sufficiently promising over the recent decades. This distinct business model of the airline fulfilled the vision of Southwest Airlines, namely connecting people at a low-price reliably. As of April 2021, the company was the seventh-largest airline based on sales globally. In 2020, Denver, Chicago, and Las Vegas were the main hubs for Southwest Airlines by the number of passengers. During the last decade, Southwest Airlines’ revenue passenger miles (RPMs) increased continuously, reaching over *** billion RPMs.

The three largest U.S. full-cost carriers sit atop the list of passenger kilometers (RPKs) flown worldwide in 2020 with American Airlines managing to reach top spot with *** billion RPKs. On the ***** place was Delta with ***** billion, followed by United Airlines with ***** billion RPKs. Revenue passenger kilometers Revenue passenger kilometers (or revenue passenger miles, in some territories) are a measure of passenger demand in a given market. They are calculated by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers aboard an aircraft by the distance the aircraft traveled. Often RPKs are compared to available seat kilometers (ASKs), which are the number of seats available for sale on an aircraft multiplied by the distance flown. ASKs effectively measure supply in a given market, with the goal of airlines being to match their ASKs offered with their RPKs flown. Airline metrics Across most airline industry metrics the large full-cost U.S. airlines dominate. Looking at only the number of passengers flown, American and Delta again sit in first and second place, with U.S. low-cost carrier Southwest coming in ***** just ahead of United. Revenue figures tells a similar story, but with German national carrier Lufthansa replacing Southwest. However, when considering the number of airport pairs served, all the U.S. carriers are beaten out by Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, who serve nearly ** percent more airport pairs than American Airlines.