The latest data from leading travel data and analytics provider OAG reveals that American Airlines has cemented its position as the world’s largest airline by flight frequency, leading a powerful showing by U.S. carriers in the global rankings for November 2025.
American Airlines operated a staggering 183,594 flights this month. This figure represents an increase of 9,017 flights compared to November 2024—the largest volume increase among the Top 20 global airlines.
U.S. carriers secured the top four spots in the rankings, with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines following closely behind American, underscoring the strength of the North American market.
Despite a seasonal drop from October, global airline capacity for November is expected to reach 481.9 million seats, representing a solid 4.2% increase (19.2 million more seats) compared to November 2024.
Key Capacity Growth Areas:
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Regional Strength: North East Asia and Western Europe are the primary drivers of capacity volume growth, adding $4.3$ million and $3.4$ million seats, respectively, year-over-year.
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Top Growth Rate: Southern Africa continues its strong momentum, projected to record the strongest growth rate among IATA regions, up 11.9% from last year.
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Notable Exceptions: The Caribbean is the only IATA region to show a decline, with capacity down 2.4% compared to November 2024.
The USA remains the world’s largest domestic market with $86.5$ million seats, significantly outpacing second-place China ($65.6$ million seats).
However, China recorded the largest increase in domestic capacity among the Top 10 markets, adding $2.3$ million seats compared to last November.
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Emerging Market Growth: India and Mexico are also seeing strong domestic expansion, with seat capacity increasing by 8.9% and 7.9%, respectively, year-over-year.
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Domestic Declines: Japan (down 1.4%), Indonesia (down 4.6%), and Spain (down 7.1%) all saw a decrease in domestic seat capacity this month compared to last year.
While most top carriers are increasing frequency, three airlines in the Top 20 showed a decline in flight operations compared to last November:
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Air Canada: Down 1.3%
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Japan Airlines: Down 1.3%
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Deutsche Lufthansa: Down 8.5%
