| Top 100 mainline/regional airlines ranked by passenger traffic – 2000 | |||||||||||||
| Ranking | Airline operation | Country | Passenger traffic (RPK) | Load factors | Passenger number | Employees | Fleet | ||||||
| 2000 | (1999) | million | change | percent | change | million | change | size | Notes | ||||
| 1 | (1) | United Airlines | USA | 204,273 | 1.2% | 72.3% | 1.3 | 84.5 | -3.0% | 98,400 | 620 | Mainline scheduled only | |
| 2 | (2) | American Airlines | USA | 187,501 | 4.1% | 72.4% | 2.9 | 86.3 | 1.8% | 93,000 | 729 | Mainline scheduled only | |
| 3 | (3) | Delta Air Lines | USA | 173,593 | 2.9% | 73.3% | 0.9 | 105.7 | 0.2% | 73,700 | 596 | Mainline scheduled only | |
| 4 | (4) | Northwest Airlines | USA | 127,317 | 6.7% | 76.6% | 2.0 | 58.7 | 4.6% | 53,500 | 444 | Mainline scheduled only | |
| 5 | (5) | British Airways | UK | 116,674 | -0.7% | 71.7% | 1.9 | 36.2 | -0.3% | 62,844 | 263 | Mainline scheduled Yearend Mar 01 | |
| 6 | (6) | Continental Airlines | USA | 103,299 | 6.9% | 74.5% | 1.3 | 46.9 | 3.0% | 48,400 | 373 | Mainline scheduled only | |
| 7 | (7) | Japan Airlines | Japan | 95,264 | 7.7% | 73.6% | 3.4 | 38.7 | 4.0% | 17,514 | 134 | Year end Mar 01 | |
| 8 | (8) | Air France | France | 93,355 | 9.1% | 78.1% | 2.0 | 42.4 | 6.5% | 56,246 | 235 | Year end Mar 01 | |
| 9 | (9) | Lufthansa German Airlines | Germany | 88,608 | 8.9% | 75.2% | 1.9 | 41.3 | 6.0% | 38,094 | 234 | Includes Lufthansa Cargo | |
| 10 | (10) | US Airways | USA | 75,775 | 12.4% | 70.3% | 0.4 | 60.6 | 5.6% | 43,467 | 409 | Cargo DOT Form 41 | |
| 11 | (18) | Air Canada | Canada | 72,398 | 3.6% | 70.9% | 0.7 | 24.7 | 8.6% | 31,560 | 244 | Incorporates Canadian Airlines | |
| 12 | (11) | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | 71,118 | 8.2% | 76.8% | 1.9 | 15.0 | 8.9% | 27,630 | 89 | ||
| 13 | (14) | Southwest Airlines | USA | 67,966 | 15.7% | 70.5% | 1.5 | 63.7 | 10.7% | 29,274 | 357 | ||
| 14 | (12) | Qantas Airways | Australia | 64,149 | 7.2% | 75.4% | 2.2 | 20.5 | 6.5% | 29,217 | 111 | Year end Jun 00 | |
| 15 | (13) | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | Netherlands | 60,047 | 1.9% | 79.8% | 2.4 | 16.1 | 2.3% | 30,253 | 97 | Year end Mar 01 | |
| 16 | (15) | All Nippon Airways | Japan | 58,710 | 2.8% | 68.3% | 2.9 | 43.7 | 1.3% | 14,303 | 138 | Year end Mar 01 | |
| 17 | (17) | Cathay Pacific | China | 47,153 | 13.6% | 76.2% | 4.8 | 11.9 | 12.8% | 14,293 | 69 | ||
| 18 | (16) | TWA Airlines | USA | 43,790 | 4.6% | 72.3% | -0.6 | 26.4 | 2.2% | 19,655 | 181 | Now acquired by American | |
| 19 | (20) | Alitalia | Italy | 41,433 | 12.7% | 72.1% | 4.6 | 26.7 | 11.0% | 23,478 | 145 | ||
| 20 | (19) | Thai Airways International | Thailand | 41,347 | 9.8% | 74.5% | 1.8 | 17.7 | 8.4% | 25,656 | 78 | ||
| 21 | (21) | Korean Air | South Korea | 40,606 | 10.8% | 72.7% | -1.3 | 22.1 | 7.5% | 16,000 | 116 | ||
| 22 | (23) | Iberia Airlines | Spain | 40,049 | 15.7% | 74.0% | 5.1 | 24.5 | 12.0% | 26,814 | 164 | ||
| 23 | (22) | Malaysia Airlines | Malaysia | 38,313 | 9.7% | 74.8% | 3.5 | 16.6 | 8.0% | 21,518 | 93 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 24 | (24) | Swissair | Switzerland | 35,918 | 8.9% | 70.1% | 2.7 | 15.1 | 8.9% | 7,299 | 76 | ||
| 25 | (25) | America West Airlines | USA | 30,739 | 7.9% | 70.4% | 2.0 | 20.0 | 6.7% | 13,145 | 144 | Scheduled data. Cargo DOT Form 41 | |
| 26 | (26) | Virgin Atlantic Airways | UK | 29,471 | 17.8% | 79.0% | 2.0 | 4.3 | 18.3% | 7,000 | 32 | ||
| 27 | (27) | Varig | Brazil | 26,599 | 12.6% | 73.0% | 6.4 | 10.9 | 8.3% | 16,869 | 94 | ||
| 28 | (28) | China Airlines | Taiwan | 25,967 | 16.7% | 76.0% | 4.0 | 7.9 | 0.4% | 9,058 | 53 | ||
| 29 | (29) | SAS | Sweden | 22,647 | 7.0% | 67.0% | 3.3 | 23.2 | 5.7% | 21,820 | 157 | ||
| 30 | (33) | China Southern Airlines | China | 21,653 | 15.9% | 60.4% | 1.7 | 16.8 | 11.0% | 17,935 | 83 | ||
| 31 | (30) | Air New Zealand | New Zealand | 20,978 | 6.7% | 69.7% | 1.8 | 7.8 | 19.8% | 9,554 | 38 | ||
| 32 | (41) | Emirates | UAE | 20,468 | 26.9% | 75.1% | 3.2 | 5.7 | 19.8% | 6,524 | 36 | ||
| 33 | (31) | Saudi Arabian Airlines | Saudi Arabia | 20,231 | 3.1% | 63.1% | -0.1 | 12.6 | 2.0% | 24,305 | 101 | ||
| 34 | (37) | Sabena | Belgium | 19,660 | 11.0% | 67.5% | 1.9 | 10.9 | 9.7% | 7,846 | 54 | ||
| 35 | (38) | South African Airways | South Africa | 19,321 | 9.5% | 65.3% | 3.4 | 6.1 | 6.1% | 59 | Source: IATA WATS | ||
| 36 | (32) | Alaska Airlines | USA | 19,297 | 1.8% | 69.2% | 1.3 | 13.5 | -0.7% | 9,611 | 99 | ||
| 37 | (35) | EVA Air | Taiwan | 19,105 | 5.3% | 75.5% | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.0% | 5,290 | 37 | ||
| 38 | (39) | American Trans Air | USA | 19,025 | 7.9% | 72.1% | -0.5 | 8.0 | 13.6% | 7,500 | 53 | ||
| 39 | (43) | Air China | China | 18,346 | 16.6% | 64.0% | 2.8 | 8.1 | 20.4% | 11,118 | 68 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 40 | (36) | Finnair | Finland | 17,534 | -1.1% | 66.4% | -1.3 | 7.4 | 0.0% | 8,974 | 57 | Scheduled and Charter combined | |
| 41 | (40) | Aeroflot | Russia | 17,434 | 6.3% | 65.7% | 6.3 | 5.1 | 10.7% | 15,352 | 106 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 42 | (44) | THY Turkish Airlines | Turkey | 17,395 | 25.1% | 66.5% | 6.5 | 12.0 | 15.6% | 9,001 | 72 | ||
| 43 | (42) | Ansett Australia | Australia | 17,110 | 8.1% | 73.4% | 5.5 | 12.5 | 5.9% | 12,307 | 67 | 0 | |
| 44 | (45) | Asiana Airlines | South Korea | 15,940 | 16.6% | 75.7% | 0.1 | 12.2 | 10.0% | 6,030 | 58 | ||
| 45 | (34) | Japan Air System | Japan | 15,487 | -15.7% | 61.2% | -1.1 | 21.0 | 0.6% | 5,034 | 82 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 46 | (49) | Aeromexico | Mexico | 14,658 | 20.2% | 67.8% | 1.4 | 9.9 | 14.7% | 7,414 | 73 | ||
| 47 | (46) | El Al | Israel | 14,641 | 7.8% | 75.0% | 1.7 | 3.3 | 5.8% | 3,526 | 31 | ||
| 48 | (47) | China Eastern Airlines | China | 13,844 | 6.4% | 62.4% | 3.5 | 9.0 | 6.0% | 16,000 | 61 | ||
| 49 | (48) | Garuda Indonesia | Indonesia | 13,779 | 11.2% | 71.2% | 2.1 | 5.9 | 12.5% | 9,478 | 50 | Source: IATA WATS, scheduled only | |
| 50 | (51) | Mexicana | Mexico | 13,213 | 11.3% | 66.1% | -3.6 | 8.5 | 9.4% | 61 | |||
| 51 | (57) | Philippine Airlines | Philippines | 13,084 | 26.2% | 68.5% | 2.4 | 5.7 | 13.8% | 31 | |||
| 52 | (52) | Air Transat | Canada | 12,850 | 13.3% | 88.8% | 0.8 | 3.3 | 24.5% | 2,336 | 23 | ||
| 53 | (53) | Gulf Air | Bahrain | 12,756 | 12.5% | 69.7% | 0.4 | 5.3 | 5.2% | 5,000 | 28 | ||
| 54 | (50) | Air-India | India | 12,572 | 4.4% | 71.0% | 3.2 | 3.4 | 4.8% | 16,804 | 24 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 55 | (55) | Pakistan Int'l Airlines | Pakistan | 12,054 | 10.9% | 64.5% | 3.4 | 5.3 | 5.9% | 17,472 | 46 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 56 | (54) | Aerolineas Argentinas | Argentina | 11,223 | 0.9% | 64.4% | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.5% | 5,552 | 48 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 57 | (59) | Canada 3000 Airlines | Canada | 11,010 | 11.4% | 83.7% | -1.2 | 3.5 | 17 | Passengers estimated/Pre-mergers | |||
| 58 | (61) | TAP Air Portugal | Portugal | 10,385 | 10.7% | 72.9% | 5.1 | 5.3 | 9.1% | 8,837 | 33 | ||
| 59 | (56) | AOM French Airlines | France | 10,308 | -3.2% | 75.1% | -0.6 | 3.3 | -9.1% | 2,028 | 1 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 60 | (60) | LanChile | Chile | 9,931 | 1.8% | 68.9% | 4.0 | 4.3 | 0.1% | 9,306 | 36 | Consolidated | |
| 61 | (58) | Egyptair | Egypt | 9,876 | -1.3% | 60.6% | -1.9 | 5.4 | -0.1% | 21,000 | 34 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 62 | (62) | Spanair | Spain | 9,716 | 13.0% | 69.6% | -2.9 | 7.2 | 25.8% | 2,074 | 45 | ||
| 63 | (68) | Transavia Airlines | Netherlands | 9,300 | 24.5% | 89.2% | 8.2 | 3.8 | 9.0% | 1,617 | 24 | Includes Basiq Air | |
| 64 | (66) | Hawaiian Airlines | USA | 9,109 | 15.9% | 78.1% | 0.9 | 6.3 | 9.8% | 30 | |||
| 65 | (67) | Aer Lingus | Ireland | 8,889 | 16.9% | 76.0% | 2.1 | 6.6 | 5.8% | 39 | AEA - Scheduled only | ||
| 66 | (63) | Olympic Airways | Greece | 8,884 | 5.2% | 64.8% | 2.8 | 6.7 | 5.7% | 6,150 | 31 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 67 | (65) | Austrian Airlines | Austria | 8,799 | 11.5% | 67.0% | 1.1 | 3.9 | 10.8% | 4,964 | 37 | Scheduled only | |
| 68 | (64) | Air Europa | Spain | 8,592 | 6.2% | 77.8% | 3.5 | 5.9 | 14.8% | 2,081 | 25 | ||
| 69 | (117) | TAM Linhas Aereas | Brazil | 7,864 | 36.7% | 51.4% | 0.4 | 9.5 | 22.3% | 5,590 | 80 | TAM Regioniasand TAM Meridionas merged | |
| 70 | (69) | Iran Air | Iran | 7,801 | 5.0% | 73.0% | 4.3 | 7.3 | 2.1% | 10,000 | 31 | ||
| 71 | (72) | Royal Air Maroc | Morocco | 7,438 | 8.4% | 71.4% | 6.6 | 3.7 | 8.2% | 5,548 | 34 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 72 | (71) | Indian Airlines | India | 7,133 | 3.4% | 82.3% | 18.4 | 5.9 | -1.0% | 20,703 | 48 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 73 | (75) | China Northern Airlines | China | 7,093 | 17.2% | 59.5% | 5.6 | 5.1 | 17.6% | 29 | |||
| 74 | (82) | SriLankan Airlines | Sri Lanka | 6,860 | 32.7% | 66.5% | -5.2 | 1.7 | 22.3% | 5,205 | 6 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 75 | (77) | AirTran Airways | USA | 6,687 | 15.8% | 70.2% | 6.9 | 7.5 | 16.9% | 61 | |||
| 76 | (79) | Avianca | Colombia | 6,560 | 20.3% | 70.9% | 4.9 | 4.8 | 18.9% | 3,309 | 29 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 77 | (73) | Air Europe SpA | Italy | 6,200 | -6.7% | 1.6 | 31.7% | 6 | RPK, RTK Estimated | ||||
| 78 | (76) | China Southwest Airlines | China | 6,199 | 4.5% | 57.0% | 0.9 | 4.7 | -5.1% | 33 | Source: IATA WATS | ||
| 79 | (74) | Kuwait Airways | Kuwait | 6,139 | -0.4% | 69.8% | -0.4 | 2.1 | -0.4% | 4,394 | 17 | ||
| 80 | (78) | LOT Polish Airlines | Poland | 5,715 | 2.8% | 67.6% | -2.5 | 2.8 | 7.2% | 4,125 | 36 | ||
| 81 | (83) | TACA Int'l Airlines | El Salvador | 5,685 | 11.6% | 68.7% | 2.0 | 4.1 | 4.9% | 5,400 | 16 | Source: IATA WATS. Grupo TACA | |
| 82 | (81) | Sun Country Airlines | USA | 5,335 | 2.7% | 71.0% | -1.9 | 2.4 | -3.9% | 16 | Source: US DOT | ||
| 83 | (80) | Air LibertÈ | France | 5,297 | -2.1% | 69.3% | -3.7 | 4.0 | -9.1% | 2,259 | 51 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 84 | (84) | Tunisair | Tunisia | 5,188 | 2.3% | 72.0% | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.2% | 7,382 | 34 | ||
| 85 | (87) | American Eagle Airlines | USA | 5,069 | 16.3% | 61.1% | -0.8 | 12.2 | 6.3% | 274 | |||
| 86 | (89) | Air Mauritius | Mauritius | 4,952 | 17.5% | 72.7% | 3.9 | 1.0 | 12.8% | 2,121 | 10 | ||
| 87 | (92) | Comair | USA | 4,930 | 21.0% | 66.7% | 3.8 | 8.1 | 15.1% | ||||
| 88 | (70) | VASP Brazilian Airlines | Brazil | 4,918 | -31.2% | 57.2% | 9.0 | 4.1 | -2.9% | 4,175 | 29 | Source: IATA WATS | |
| 89 | (95) | Jet Airways | India | 4,824 | 23.2% | 71.8% | 8.8 | 5.8 | 25.6% | 5,965 | 33 | 0 | |
| 90 | (104) | Continental Express | USA | 4,742 | 37.0% | 62.2% | -0.4 | 7.8 | 16.6% | 181 | Preliminary | ||
| 91 | (126) | easyJet | UK | 4,730 | 79.4% | 80.8% | 5.2 | 5.6 | 80.6% | 1,140 | 19 | ||
| 92 | (107) | Ryanair | Ireland | 4,656 | 37.5% | 69.9% | 2.9 | 7.0 | 27.3% | 36 | Source: IATA WATS | ||
| 93 | (85) | Lauda Air | Austria | 4,562 | -0.1% | 76.5% | 3.1 | 1.1 | 13.1% | 1,705 | 19 | Scheduled only | |
| 94 | (86) | Transbrasil | Brazil | 4,501 | 1.0% | 55.2% | 5.0 | 2.2 | -16.3% | 2,949 | 14 | ||
| 95 | (101) | Spirit Airlines | USA | 4,455 | 25.6% | 73.8% | -0.5 | 2.8 | 20.0% | 30 | |||
| 96 | (90) | China Northwest Airlines | China | 4,418 | 5.2% | 62.2% | 3.4 | 12.0% | 29 | Source: IATA WATS | |||
| 97 | (91) | Royal Jordanian Airlines | Jordan | 4,207 | 0.3% | 68.2% | -0.6 | 1.3 | 0.0% | 15 | |||
| 98 | (96) | Vietnam Airlines | Vietnam | 4,200 | 9.2% | 2.8 | 9.2% | 26 | Estimated | ||||
| 99 | (106) | Frontier Airlines | USA | 4,178 | 23.4% | 64.9% | 5.8 | 2.9 | 26.9% | 0 | 26 | ||
| 100 | (102) | Air Jamaica | Jamaica | 4,175 | 19.4% | 68.8% | 2.8 | 1.9 | 14.9% | 18 | Source: IATA WATS | ||
Source: Airline Business
