New data released for February 2026 confirms that American Airlines continues to hold its position as the world’s largest airline by flight frequency. According to the latest OAG schedules, the carrier is set to operate 171,121 flights this month, maintaining a significant lead of 38,808 flights over its nearest competitor, Delta Air Lines.
The aviation industry is seeing a steady upward trend, with global capacity reaching 459.4 million seats this month—a 4.2% increase compared to February 2025.
Key market highlights include:
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The United States remains the world’s largest domestic market with 77.5 million seats.
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Mexico – USA continues to be the premier international corridor, with 4.1 million scheduled seats this month.
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Vietnam has emerged as the fastest-growing domestic market, boasting a 14.5% increase in seat capacity year-on-year.
China’s domestic market is experiencing a significant surge, adding 4.9 million seats (+7.4%) compared to last year. This growth is largely attributed to the timing of the Chinese New Year, which fell on February 17th this year. This shift moved the peak seasonal travel demand entirely into the February schedule, making China the second-largest domestic market with 71.2 million seats.
While Chinese carriers like China Southern Airlines (+11.4%) and Air China (+8.0%) are reporting robust growth, several established global players are seeing a contraction in capacity. Notable year-on-year declines include:
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Deutsche Lufthansa: -8.6%
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IndiGo: -1.5%
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Japan Airlines: -1.4%
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British Airways & All Nippon Airways: -0.9%
Japan stands out as the only “Top 10” domestic market to see a decline, with capacity dropping 2% to 10.5 million seats.
As of February 2026, the global aviation infrastructure remains expansive, supported by:
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718 active airlines operating worldwide.
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3,920 airports currently in operation.
