World's Biggest Airlines Rankings: China Southern drops back, ANA replaces JAL
Dynamic change at the top of the world Airline Rankings (by capacity) continues this month, with China Southern Airlines the surprise loser, falling one place from Apr-2011 behind fast-growing neighbour Cathay Pacific into 13th place. All Nippon Airways has entered the list for the first time, taking Japan Airlines' (JAL) spot as the world's 25th biggest airline by capacity (ASKs), according to Innovata.
The top ten remains unchanged from last month, though the year-on-year comparison sees Emirates replacing United in fourth place; Lufthansa taking fifth place from Southwest and Air France stepping into eighth place from rival British Airways.
China Southern lost two places from the same month last year, as Ryanair continued its rise up the rankings, rounding out the global top ten. China Southern and mainland rival Air China have very moderate capacity growth plans this month, while China Eastern, which is growing slightly faster, has moved up a notch to 18th place from Air Canada.
Turkish Airways and TAM have surged into the Top 25, with ASK growth of 28% and 10%, respectively, year-on-year.
Delta remains the world's biggest single airline, followed by American, by ASKs.
See related reports:
- Global Alliance rankings: May-2011. SkyTeam gains a little ground on Star
- Global LCC Rankings: May-2011. Mexico's Volaris and India's SpiceJet break into the top LCC grouping
Global Top 25 Airlines by capacity per week (ASK) – May-2011 vs May-2010
| Operating Airline | May-2010 | May-2011 | % Change | Ranking | Variance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May-10 | May-11 | |||||
| Delta Air Lines | 6,102,118,573 | 6,243,568,871 | 2.3% | 1 | 1 | - |
| American Airlines | 4,854,177,992 | 4,951,435,161 | 2.0% | 2 | 2 | - |
| Emirates | 3,551,626,636 | 3,870,681,393 | 9.0% | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| United Airlines | 3,810,291,936 | 3,614,028,401 | -5.2% | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Lufthansa | 3,070,128,263 | 3,480,124,502 | 13.4% | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Southwest Airlines | 3,208,071,795 | 3,305,265,651 | 3.0% | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| Continental Airlines | 2,923,238,947 | 3,051,290,616 | 4.4% | 7 | 7 | - |
| Air France | 2,778,322,405 | 2,916,081,607 | 5.0% | 9 | 8 | +1 |
| British Airways | 2,848,093,856 | 2,796,308,602 | -1.8% | 8 | 9 | -1 |
| Ryanair | 2,055,168,254 | 2,459,057,531 | 19.7% | 13 | 10 | +3 |
| US Airways | 2,312,866,697 | 2,416,940,242 | 4.5% | 10 | 11 | -1 |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | 2,064,183,272 | 2,300,077,118 | 11.4% | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| China Southern Airlines | 2,134,524,628 | 2,241,457,984 | 5.0% | 11 | 13 | -2 |
| Singapore Airlines | 1,993,761,213 | 2,141,249,167 | 7.4% | 14 | 14 | - |
| Air China | 1,941,477,587 | 2,009,143,778 | 3.5% | 15 | 15 | - |
| Qantas Airways | 1,815,113,123 | 1,841,407,412 | 1.4% | 16 | 16 | - |
| KLM | 1,741,483,068 | 1,827,621,459 | 4.9% | 17 | 17 | - |
| China Eastern Airlines | 1,659,517,189 | 1,768,394,106 | 6.6% | 19 | 18 | +1 |
| Air Canada | 1,699,036,977 | 1,763,392,363 | 3.8% | 18 | 19 | -1 |
| Korean Air
|
1,591,374,104 | 1,666,182,779 | 4.7% | 20 | 20 | - |
| Thai Airways | 1,455,488,263 | 1,570,856,316 | 7.9% | 21 | 21 | - |
| Turkish Airlines | 1,209,329,511 | 1,545,059,571 | 27.8% | - | 22 | - |
| Qatar Airways | 1,445,902,739 | 1,530,180,591 | 5.8% | 22 | 23 | -1 |
| TAM | 1,330,722,676 | 1,461,352,897 | 9.8% | - | 24 | - |
| All Nippon Airways | 1,189,212,165 | 1,351,641,725 | 13.7% | - | 25 | - |
| GRAND TOTAL | 60,785,231,868 | 64,122,799,845 | 5.5% | |||