The Largest Airlines in the World
In this article, we’ll take a look at the world’s biggest airline companies. We will highlight the top 10 largest airlines in the world by market capitalisation, as well as sharing the biggest airlines in terms of revenue.
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10 Largest Airlines in the World by Market Capitalisation
In the following sections, we will take a look at the top 10 biggest airlines in the world in terms of market cap.
1. Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline which, since founded in 1984, has become the largest carrier in Europe.
Towards the end of 2023, as share price surged, Ryanair became the largest airline company in the world by market capitalisation. At the time of writing, its market cap stands at $31.6 billion.
Whilst most airlines’ share prices remain well below their pre-pandemic levels, Ryanair currently trades significantly higher. In the 12-month period ended 31 December 2023, Ryanair reported revenue of €13.12 billion, 30% higher than the previous year. In the same period, operating profit rose 45% to €2.17 billion.
2. Delta Air Lines
Next on the list of largest airlines in the world is Delta Air Lines, one of the “big four” US airline companies. Having begun operations in 1929, it is also the oldest operating airline in the country.
Delta had been the biggest airline in the world until it was dethroned by Ryanair in 2023. However, although share price remains considerably lower than before the pandemic, Delta are firmly second placed in the list.
At the time of writing, the airline has a market cap of $27.1 billion. In the year ended 31 December 2023, Delta’s revenue rose 20% to $54.7 billion with operating income rising 78% to $6.3 billion.
3. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is another of the big four, which operates a low-cost model and is the largest carrier of domestic passengers in the US.
At the time of writing, Southwest has a market cap of $17.5 billion. In 2023, the airline’s revenue climbed almost 10% to $26.1 billion. However, significantly higher operating expenses caused operating income to drop 74% to $267 million.
4. InterGlobe Aviation
Moving down the list, the market capitalisation of the next four entries are fairly similar at the time of writing, so don’t be surprised if their order in the list change from time to time.
The share price of India’s largest airline carrier, InterGlobe Aviation, has soared in recent years, seeing it climb high up the list of the 10 largest airlines in the world. At the time of writing, the airline has a market cap of $15.1 billion.
Shares of InterGlobe, also operating as IndiGo, gained 122% in the three year period ended 31 December 2023. In terms of passengers carried, it had a 55% market share of the Indian market in 2023, considerably more than second Vistara, which accounted for just 10%.
In the year ended 31 December 2023, revenue rose 35% to $8.1 billion (INR 670 billion). After reporting an operating loss of $350 million (INR 29 billion) the previous year, operating profit in the year ended 31 December 2023 came in at $870 million (INR 72 billion).
5. Air China
Founded in 1988, Air China is its nation’s flag carrier and one of the “big three” Chinese airlines. Its share price has had a fairly torrid time in recent months, falling almost 30% in 2023. Consequently, its market cap is currently $14.8 billion, having previously been in excess of $20 billion at the start of 2023.
The airline is yet to release its results for full-year 2023, but in the first nine months of 2023, revenue soared 151% to $14.7 billion (RMB 105.5 billion). However, the company reported an operating loss of $60 million (RMB 430 million), although this is considerably shallower than its loss of $4.6 billion (RMB 33.3 billion) the previous year.
6. Singapore Airlines
Not far behind, Singapore Airlines currently ranks as the sixth biggest airline in the world, with a market cap of $14.2 billion.
Singapore’s flag carrier has a reputation for being a top airline, having been awarded the title of world’s best airline on five occasions. In the year ended 31 December 2023, revenue climbed 19% to $18.8 billion and operating profit jumped 50% to $2.9 billion.
7. United Airlines
Another of the big four US airlines, United Airlines was formed in the 1920s by the merging, or uniting, of several airlines and started operations in 1931.
At the time of writing, United Airlines has a market cap of $13.7 billion. In 2023, revenue jumped 20% to $53.7 billion and operating income soared 80% to $4.2 billion.
8. China Southern Airlines
Another of the big three Chinese airlines, China Southern Airlines was founded in 1988 and is Asia’s largest airline by fleet size.
Like Air China, China Southern Airlines has not had the best time in the stock market recently. In 2023, share price sank 35% and, at the time of writing, the airline’s market capitalisation is $12.6 billion.
In the first nine months of 2023, revenue increased by 70% to $16.6 billion (RMB 119.5 billion) and the airline reported an operating profit of $500 million (RMB 3.6 billion) after a loss of $2.9 billion (RMB 21.1 billion) the previous year.
9. Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkey and currently has a market capitalisation of $11.9 billion. The airline’s share price – and, consequently, market cap – has benefitted in recent years from a broader rally in the Turkish stock market as savers, faced with sky high inflation, have turned to equities.
In the nine month period ended 30 September 2023, Turkish Airline’s revenue rose 16% to $15.8 billion, with operating profit also rising 26% to $2.6 billion.
10. ANA Holdings
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is Japan’s largest airline, edging ahead of the nation’s flag carrier Japan Airways. At the time of writing, it has a market cap of $10 billion.
In the first nine months of 2023, ANA’s revenue rose 23% to $10.5 billion (JPY 1,544 billion) and operating profit increasing 112% to $1.43 billion (JPY 210 billion).
Biggest Airlines in the World by Revenue
Now we know what the top 10 biggest airlines in the world are by market capitalisation, but what about in terms of revenue? In the table below, we’ve highlighted the 5 largest airlines by revenue.
Investing with Admirals
With an Invest.MT5 account from Admirals, you can buy shares in many of the airlines examined in this article, including Ryanair, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. Click the banner below to register for an account today:
FAQ
Which is the biggest airline company in the world?
At the time of writing, Ryanair is the biggest airline company in the world by market capitalisation. However, in terms of revenue, Delta Air Lines in the largest airline company in the world.
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