15 largest airlines in the world in 2022, based on revenue and number of employees

Ranking the biggest airlines in the world in 2022 was not an easy task for Insider Monkey. There are several ways to rank airlines but most of the information found when searching for the biggest airlines is either unsourced or outdated. Sometimes, it’s just impractical such as defining the biggest airlines by number of seats available, when there are far better metrics to consider.

→ Emirates begins multi-million dollar program to modernize its fleet.

For this ranking, considered the latest revenues of each airline, as well as the number of employees, assigning 70% to the former and 30% to the latter. We also considered market value; however, some of the biggest Middle Eastern airlines aren’t listed, and excluding them would lead to a major inaccuracy in the rankings. All the information for revenue and employees is either taken from Fortune 500, each company’s annual reports or their official website. So, let’s take a look at the 15 largest airlines in the world in 2022.

15. JetBlue Airways

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 6.04

Total number of employees: 17,459

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost U.S. airline that operates more than 1,000 daily flights and serves domestic and international destinations with operations in Europe, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, among other destinations.

14. All Nippon Airways

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 7.14

Total number of employees: 13,689

All Nippon Airways is a Japanese airline that, in addition to the flag carrier, owns other subsidiaries such as Air Nippon, Air Do and ANA Wings.

13. Alaska Air Group

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 6.18

Total number of employees: 21,691

Alaska Air Group, Inc. is the holding company for two major U.S. airlines, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines. While Alaska Air Group had losses of more than $1 billion in 2020, it has rebounded in 2021, with its net income being more than $500 million.

12. International Airlines Group

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 8.2

Total number of employees: 50,222

International Airlines Group is the holding company of two major airlines in Europe: British Airways and Iberia, the flag carriers of the United Kingdom and Spain, respectively. Since its creation, the company has also acquired other airlines such as Vueling and Aer Lingus.

11. China Eastern Airlines

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 9.4

Total number of employees: 80,000

China Eastern Airline is considered one of the “big three” airlines in the Asian giant, with a fleet of more than 600 aircraft serving nearly 250 destinations.

→ Ryanair achieves new monthly passenger record in October.

10. Qatar Airways

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 14.12

Total number of employees: 41,026

Recently named the world’s best airline in 2022 by the Skytrax World Airline Awards, Qatar Airways, owned by the state of Qatar, offers flights to more than 150 destinations.

9. China Airlines

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 10.43

Total number of employees: 88,395

China Airlines operates more than 1,400 weekly flights to over 100 destinations worldwide.

8. Air France-KLM Group

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 11.89

Total number of employees: 84,062

The Air France-KLM Group was created in 2004 following the merger of the two airlines. The two main hubs at which the group operates are Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Amsterdam Schipol airport.

7. Southwest Airlines

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 15.79

Total number of employees: 55,093

Considered the world’s largest low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines operates more than 4,000 daily flights during the peak travel season.

6. China Southern Airlines

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 14.23

Total number of employees: 98,098

China Southern Airlines is Asia’s largest airline by fleet size and operates more than 2,000 daily flights to over 200 destinations.

5. Emirates

TotaTotal revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 16.1

Total number of employees: 85,219

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, is also one of the most luxurious airlines in the world, and is often listed in the top five of the annual Best Airline Awards. It operates more than 3,600 weekly flights to more than 80 countries from its hub at Dubai International Airport, with a fleet of 300 aircraft.

4. United Airlines Holdings

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 24.63

Total number of employees: 84,100

Three of the world’s 4 largest airlines are from the United States, which should come as no surprise given the large number of domestic operations available in a country where some states are larger than European countries. United Airlines has many subsidiaries, including Air Wisconsin, Commut Air, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines and Republic Airways, among others.

3. Lufthansa

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 16.3

Total number of employees: 105,290

While it isn’t the biggest airline in Europe in terms of passengers served, Lufthansa is definitely the biggest in terms of revenue, as opposed to RyanAir, whose revenue is much lower because of operating low cost flights. Apart from the Lufthansa brand, the company also owns other major European airlines including Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

2. Delta Air Lines

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 29.9

Total number of employees: 83,000

Delta Air Lines has the highest revenue in the world for an airline. Operating in more than 50 countries, Delta operates over 5,000 daily flights and serves more than 350 destinations. Surprisingly, Delta is also one of the very few airlines to have actually managed an operating income, instead of an operating loss for 2021.

1. American Airlines Group

Total revenue in the latest financial year (in billions of dollars): 29.9

Total number of employees: 123,400

Topping the list of the 15 biggest airlines in the world in 2022 is American Airlines Group, though its revenues were almost identical to Delta. However, American won due to the significant edge it had in the number of employees. American operates close to 7,000 flights every day and flies to more than 50 countries across the world.

By Ty Haqqi – Insider Monkey