Top 10 Airlines in the World in 2021 by No. of Seats Sold

American Airlines Group Inc, Southwest Airlines Co, Delta Air Lines Inc, Ryanair Holdings Plc, and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd are the top 5 airlines in the world in 2021 by the number of seats sold. Cumulatively, the top 10 airlines in the world sold 914,454,000 seats, where the highest number of seats were sold by American Airlines Group Inc (123,485,000), followed by Southwest Airlines Co (122,754,000) and Delta Air Lines Inc (110,451,000), while the lowest number of seats were sold by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (50,604,000). In terms of the geographical split, 4 out of the top 10 airlines in the world are based in North America, 3 are based in Europe, and the remaining 3 companies are based in Asia. They employed a total of 771,473 people in 2021. The United States of America-based American Airlines Group Inc is the leading airline in the world (by no. of seats sold). The company reported revenues of $29,882 million for the fiscal year ended December 2021 (FY2021), an increase of 72.8% over FY2020, growth in revenue was due to recovery in domestic and international travel, also due to a 75.9% increase in revenue passenger miles and passenger load factor. It is a is a provider of passenger airline services. It provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. The company also offers frequent flyer programs under the brand AAdvantage to improve passenger loyalty by providing awards to travelers for continued patronage and employs 123,400 people in 2021. Southwest Airlines Co is one of the leading airlines in the world (by no. of seats sold). The company reported revenues of $15,790 million for the fiscal year ended December 2021 (FY2021), an increase of 74.51% over FY2020. It is a provider of passenger airline services. The company provides point-to-point flight services that offer direct nonstop routing as compared to hub-and-spoke service. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircraft serving 121 destinations across 40 states in the US including the District of Columbia, and it employs 62,333 people in 2021.