| Top 100 airline ranking by passenger traffic – 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Ranking | Airline | Country | Passenger traffic (RPK) | Load factors | Passenger number | Employees | Fleet | Notes | ||||
| 1999 | (1998) | million | change | percent | change | million | change | size | ||||
| 1 | (1) | United Airlines | USA | 201,910 | 0.7% | 71.0% | -0.6 | 87.1 | 0.3% | 100,001 | 603 | Scheduled only |
| 2 | (2) | American Airlines | USA | 180,144 | 2.8% | 69.5% | -0.7 | 84.7 | 4.1% | 101,740 | 714 | Includes full-year Reno Air |
| 3 | (3) | Delta Air Lines | USA | 168,599 | 1.4% | 72.4% | -0.3 | 105.5 | 0.1% | 72,000 | 600 | Scheduled only |
| 4 | (5) | Northwest Airlines | USA | 119,337 | 11.1% | 74.6% | 1.5 | 56.1 | 11.1% | 52,000 | 424 | Scheduled only |
| 5 | (4) | British Airways | UK | 117,463 | -0.7% | 69.8% | -0.9 | 36.3 | -2.0% | 65,640 | 268 | |
| 6 | (6) | Continental Airlines | USA | 96,575 | 11.3% | 73.2% | 1.1 | 45.5 | 4.3% | 364 | Scheduled only | |
| 7 | (8) | Air France | France | 85,543 | 12.1% | 76.1% | 0.6 | 39.8 | 7.6% | 59,000 | 227 | |
| 8 | (7) | Japan Airlines | Japan | 84,255 | 6.1% | 70.2% | 1.6 | 33.0 | 4.5% | 18,974 | 135 | |
| 9 | (9) | Lufthansa German Airlines | Germany | 81,401 | 13.2% | 73.3% | -0.4 | 38.9 | 7.8% | 233 | Deutsche Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo. | |
| 10 | (10) | US Airways | USA | 66,898 | 0.5% | 70.1% | -2.6 | 58.8 | 1.4% | 43,028 | 384 | |
| 11 | (11) | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | 65,718 | 9.0% | 74.9% | 2.4 | 13.8 | 8.5% | 27,386 | 92 | |
| 12 | (12) | Qantas Airways | Australia | 59,863 | 2.1% | 73.2% | 1.3 | 19.2 | 2.0% | 28,226 | 104 | pax data excludes regionals |
| 13 | (13) | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | Netherlands | 58,903 | 2.7% | 77.4% | 0.1 | 15.7 | 4.7% | 27,302 | 97 | |
| 14 | (15) | Southwest Airlines | USA | 58,695 | 16.1% | 69.0% | 2.9 | 57.7 | 9.5% | 27,653 | 327 | Scheduled only |
| 15 | (14) | All Nippon Airways | Japan | 56,725 | 4.0% | 65.1% | 1.5 | 42.7 | 2.2% | 14,639 | 140 | |
| 16 | (17) | Trans World Airlines | USA | 41,946 | 6.5% | 72.9% | 2.2 | 25.8 | 8.0% | 188 | ||
| 17 | (16) | Cathay Pacific | China | 41,502 | 2.0% | 71.4% | 3.9 | 10.5 | 2.1% | 13,159 | 62 | |
| 18 | (18) | Air Canada | Canada | 39,005 | 4.4% | 71.4% | 0.5 | 15.2 | 2.7% | 158 | ||
| 19 | (20) | Thai Airways International | Thailand | 37,642 | 14.2% | 72.7% | 4.8 | 16.3 | 7.4% | 77 | ||
| 20 | (19) | Alitalia | Italy | 36,762 | 3.5% | 67.5% | -1.3 | 24.1 | -0.2% | 20,770 | 146 | |
| 21 | (22) | Korean Air | South Korea | 36,662 | 13.6% | 74.0% | 6.7 | 20.5 | 4.1% | 14,107 | 111 | |
| 22 | (23) | Malaysia Airlines | Malaysia | 34,930 | 14.2% | 71.3% | 3.9 | 15.4 | 12.1% | 21,687 | 93 | |
| 23 | (21) | Iberia | Spain | 34,606 | 6.4% | 68.9% | -2.6 | 21.9 | 0.6% | 26,935 | 179 | |
| 24 | (24) | Swissair | Switzerland | 32,974 | 15.6% | 72.7% | 0.4 | 13.9 | 13.6% | 74 | ||
| 25 | (27) | America West | USA | 28,496 | 8.2% | 68.4% | 1.0 | 18.7 | 5.1% | 13,370 | 132 | |
| 26 | (26) | Canadian Airlines International | Canada | 26,701 | -0.6% | 71.1% | -0.8 | 7.5 | -10.2% | 16,807 | 80 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 27 | (32) | Virgin Atlantic Airways | UK | 25,027 | 21.2% | 77.0% | -3.4 | 3.6 | 20.6% | 6,500 | 28 | |
| 28 | (25) | Varig | Brazil | 23,624 | -12.7% | 66.6% | 0.6 | 10.1 | -8.7% | 15,605 | 89 | |
| 29 | (30) | Condor Flugdienst | Germany | 23,000 | 10.0% | 82.4% | 1.4 | 8.2 | 11.7% | 2,701 | 47 | Part of C&N Touristic. |
| 30 | (33) | China Airlines | Taiwan | 22,250 | 9.4% | 72.0% | 3.9 | 7.9 | 7.5% | 8,999 | 49 | |
| 31 | (28) | Britannia Airways | UK | 21,747 | -6.7% | 90.1% | 0.4 | 8.2 | -3.2% | 33 | UK CAA | |
| 32 | (31) | SAS | Sweden | 21,243 | 1.7% | 63.8% | -1.9 | 22.2 | 2.4% | 28,863 | 154 | |
| 33 | (29) | LTU International Airways | Germany | 20,250 | -10.2% | 78.2% | -2.7 | 6.3 | -12.2% | 5,400 | 35 | |
| 34 | (34) | Air New Zealand | New Zealand | 19,665 | 0.3% | 68.7% | 0.2 | 6.5 | 1.5% | 9,177 | 37 | |
| 35 | (35) | Saudi Arabian Airlines | Saudi Arabia | 19,619 | 4.3% | 63.2% | 0.2 | 12.3 | 4.3% | 99 | Scheduled only | |
| 36 | (37) | Alaska Airlines | USA | 18,949 | 4.3% | 67.9% | 0.8 | 13.6 | 4.4% | 91 | ||
| 37 | (36) | China Southern Airlines | China | 18,685 | 2.3% | 58.7% | -1.9 | 15.1 | 0.4% | 74 | ||
| 38 | (38) | Japan Air System | Japan | 18,368 | 7.7% | 62.3% | 2.3 | 20.9 | 5.7% | 5,667 | 82 | |
| 39 | (40) | EVA Air | Taiwan | 18,151 | 8.9% | 74.6% | 4.7 | 4.1 | 12.8% | 35 | ||
| 40 | (46) | Sabena | Belgium | 17,714 | 15.5% | 65.6% | -2.5 | 10.0 | 14.3% | 12,717 | 53 | |
| 41 | (44) | South African Airways | South Africa | 17,644 | 10.6% | 61.9% | -2.8 | 5.7 | 11.4% | 9,014 | 52 | |
| 42 | (45) | American Trans Air | USA | 16,895 | 7.9% | 73.7% | 3.2 | 6.8 | 14.0% | 56 | ||
| 43 | (41) | Aeroflot | Russia | 16,405 | -0.3% | 59.4% | 2.0 | 4.6 | 3.5% | 110 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 44 | (43) | Airtours International | UK | 16,266 | 0.1% | 91.6% | -0.6 | 5.5 | -0.9% | 31 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 45 | (65) | Air 2000 | UK | 16,217 | 54.2% | 91.4% | 1.1 | 6.0 | 32.7% | 2,345 | 27 | |
| 46 | (48) | Emirates | UAE | 16,130 | 16.0% | 71.9% | -2.6 | 4.8 | 12.4% | 4,978 | 32 | |
| 47 | (42) | Ansett Australia | Australia | 15,822 | -3.0% | 67.9% | 0.0 | 11.8 | -1.3% | 14,876 | 64 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 48 | (47) | Air China | China | 15,735 | 7.8% | 61.2% | 1.7 | 6.7 | 3.7% | 12,900 | 65 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 49 | (49) | THY Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 13,903 | 0.6% | 60.0% | -4.5 | 10.4 | -0.9% | 9,527 | 75 | |
| 50 | (57) | Asiana Airlines | South Korea | 13,674 | 21.4% | 75.6% | 9.3 | 11.1 | 26.5% | 5,835 | 51 | |
| 51 | (51) | El Al | Israel | 13,609 | 7.5% | 73.3% | 1.4 | 3.1 | 6.9% | 31 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 52 | (61) | China Eastern Airlines | China | 13,011 | 19.5% | 58.9% | 0.2 | 8.5 | 12.6% | 57 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 53 | (50) | Finnair | Finland | 12,962 | -2.5% | 60.6% | -2.5 | 7.7 | 4.2% | 9,214 | 58 | |
| 54 | (55) | Hapag-Lloyd | Germany | 12,900 | 10.1% | 84.3% | 3.8 | 5.7 | 10.0% | 31 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 55 | (56) | Mexicana de Aviacion | Mexico | 12,771 | 11.5% | 69.7% | 3.5 | 8.9 | 7.9% | 6,453 | 57 | |
| 56 | (53) | Monarch Airlines | UK | 12,569 | 3.5% | 89.0% | 1.4 | 4.6 | -0.5% | 2,000 | 23 | Additional source CAA |
| 57 | (60) | Aeromexico | Mexico | 12,402 | 13.7% | 66.4% | 1.6 | 8.8 | 10.9% | 6,846 | 67 | |
| 58 | (52) | Garuda Indonesia | Indonesia | 12,389 | 0.6% | 69.1% | 1.2 | 5.3 | 8.7% | 9,764 | 44 | Scheduled only |
| 59 | (54) | Air-India | India | 12,047 | 0.8% | 67.8% | 0.3 | 3.3 | 6.3% | 25 | ||
| 60 | (66) | Air Transat | Canada | 11,347 | 11.0% | 88.0% | 2.0 | 2.8 | 9.6% | 2,133 | 20 | Pax estimated |
| 61 | (63) | Gulf Air | Bahrain | 11,343 | 6.9% | 69.3% | -0.7 | 5.0 | 3.1% | 5,806 | 34 | |
| 62 | (58) | Aerolineas Argentinas | Argentina | 11,128 | 1.1% | 58.4% | -3.2 | 5.5 | 34.1% | 5,831 | 45 | |
| 63 | (64) | Premiair | Denmark | 11,000 | 3.7% | 3.2 | 2.6% | 14 | Estimate | |||
| 64 | (59) | Pakistan International Airlines | Pakistan | 10,869 | -0.5% | 61.1% | -5.1 | 5.0 | 0.0% | 49 | ||
| 65 | (62) | AOM French Airlines | France | 10,647 | -1.4% | 75.7% | -1.7 | 3.6 | 2.3% | 3,536 | 26 | |
| 66 | (39) | Philippine Airlines | Philippines | 10,370 | -38.6% | 66.1% | 2.2 | 5.1 | -33.4% | 8,200 | 30 | |
| 67 | (70) | Egyptair | Egypt | 10,004 | 12.8% | 62.5% | 2.5 | 5.4 | 15.7% | 18,000 | 35 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 68 | (71) | Canada 3000 Airlines | Canada | 9,885 | 11.5% | 84.9% | 0.3 | 2.9 | 6.4% | 2,149 | 12 | |
| 69 | (72) | LanChile | Chile | 9,756 | 11.9% | 64.9% | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.9% | 7,407 | 26 | Including Ladeco |
| 70 | (68) | Martinair Holland | Netherlands | 9,742 | 1.5% | 2.0 | -3.3% | 3,070 | 18 | |||
| 71 | (69) | TAP Air Portugal | Portugal | 9,380 | 0.3% | 67.8% | -2.2 | 4.8 | 6.7% | 8,870 | 35 | |
| 72 | (101) | Flying Colours Airlines | UK | 8,866 | 132.4% | 92.2% | -0.2 | 3.7 | 140.9% | Additional source CAA | ||
| 73 | (77) | Spanair | Spain | 8,598 | 10.5% | 72.5% | 3.0 | 5.8 | 12.2% | 3,190 | 38 | Pax estimated |
| 74 | (75) | Olympic Airways | Greece | 8,442 | -1.9% | 62.0% | -2.9 | 6.4 | -1.5% | 7,030 | 32 | |
| 75 | (74) | Air Europa | Spain | 8,089 | -6.2% | 74.3% | 1.7 | 5.1 | 5.0% | 1,838 | 22 | |
| 76 | (73) | Austrian Airlines | Austria | 7,894 | -8.8% | 65.9% | -2.4 | 4.5 | 1.5% | 5,372 | 37 | Scheduled only |
| 77 | (81) | Hawaiian Airlines | USA | 7,852 | 15.7% | 77.2% | 1.5 | 5.7 | 8.5% | 3,050 | 29 | |
| 78 | (79) | Aer Lingus | Ireland | 7,602 | 7.5% | 73.9% | 0.3 | 6.3 | 8.7% | 5,635 | 38 | AEA scheduled only |
| 79 | (85) | Transavia Airlines | Netherlands | 7,472 | 28.4% | 81.0% | -0.6 | 3.4 | 10.5% | 1,502 | 24 | |
| 80 | (78) | Iran Air | Iran | 7,430 | 1.5% | 68.7% | -1.4 | 7.2 | -0.6% | 29 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 81 | (76) | Caledonian Airways | UK | 7,394 | -10.2% | 87.6% | 1.1 | 2.6 | -6.4% | Additional source UK CAA | ||
| 82 | (67) | Vasp Brazilian Airlines | Brazil | 7,151 | -28.7% | 48.2% | -10.2 | 4.2 | -22.1% | 7,839 | 31 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 83 | (80) | Indian Airlines | India | 6,901 | -1.6% | 63.9% | -3.5 | 5.9 | -6.8% | 21,992 | 45 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 84 | (82) | Royal Air Maroc | Morocco | 6,863 | 9.8% | 64.8% | -0.5 | 3.5 | 11.3% | 35 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 85 | (86) | Air Europe | Italy | 6,644 | 16.9% | 85.0% | 7.9 | 1.2 | 32.2% | 812 | 13 | |
| 86 | (87) | Lauda Air | Austria | 6,309 | 13.0% | 75.6% | -1.0 | 1.7 | 11.2% | 1,692 | 16 | |
| 87 | (83) | China Northern Airlines | China | 6,200 | 1.1% | 4.4 | 1.3% | 8,000 | 40 | Estimate | ||
| 88 | () | Kuwait Airways | Kuwait | 6,165 | 70.2% | 2.1 | 16 | Additional source IATA WATS | ||||
| 89 | (84) | China Southwest Airlines | China | 5,932 | -1.2% | 56.1% | -1.5 | 4.9 | 3.8% | 8,400 | 38 | |
| 90 | () | Air Berlin | Germany | 5,804 | 75.8% | 2.7 | 20 | Additional source IATA WATS | ||||
| 91 | (90) | AirTran Airways | USA | 5,590 | 7.0% | 63.5% | 3.9 | 6.5 | 18.5% | 3,900 | 49 | |
| 92 | (95) | Avianca | Colombia | 5,451 | 16.3% | 66.0% | 1.0 | 4.1 | 3.5% | 3,216 | 42 | |
| 93 | (94) | Air Liberté | France | 5,411 | 10.3% | 73.0% | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.8% | 2,800 | 29 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 94 | (91) | LOT Polish Airlines | Poland | 5,395 | 4.8% | 68.1% | 2.1 | 2.5 | 0.3% | 26 | Additional source IATA WATS | |
| 95 | (88) | Sun Country Airlines | USA | 5,193 | -5.4% | 0.0% | 0.0 | 2.5 | -3.1% | 14 | ||
| 96 | (96) | SriLankan Airlines | Sri Lanka | 5,170 | 23.8% | 71.7% | 0.9 | 1.4 | 17.0% | 4,688 | 12 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 97 | () | TACA International Airlines | El Salvador | 5,095 | 66.7% | 3.9 | 5,400 | 20 | Additional source IATA WATS. Inclds Aviateca and Lacsa | |||
| 98 | (93) | Tunisair | Tunisia | 5,069 | 3.1% | 68.5% | 1.5 | 3.5 | 4.2% | 7,259 | 33 | Additional source IATA WATS |
| 99 | (92) | Transbrasil | Brazil | 4,455 | -9.6% | 50.2% | -6.6 | 2.6 | -9.3% | 3,581 | 16 | |
| 100 | (98) | American Eagle Airlines | USA | 4,357 | 9.8% | 61.9% | -0.5 | 11.5 | 0.1% | 10,766 | 245 | Excl subsidiaries |
Source: Airline Business
