AIRLINE FREQUENCY AND CAPACITY STATISTICS

AIR TRAVEL DATA FROM THE EXPERTS

Which is the biggest airline in the world? Which country pairs have most capacity this month? How many flights are there per day, worldwide and what are the latest airline statistics? And how many airlines and airports are in operation? Our Airline Frequency and Capacity Statistics answer all these questions and more with key facts and figures about air travel and global capacity, using flight data from OAG's Schedules Analyser; a cutting-edge platform for airline schedule analysis. 

 

Key Points From NOVEMBER's Airline Frequency and Capacity Data:

  • Global capacity is up 4.2% on last year, which equates to 19.2m more seats than November 2024.
  • Mexico - USA has replaced Spain - UK as the largest international country pair compared to last month as the peak travel season in Europe comes to an end.
  • The USA remains the largest domestic market with 86.5m seats this month.
  • American Airlines retains its position as the largest airline in the world based on frequency this month and is expected to operate 183,594 frequencies, 9,017 frequencies above November 2024.

SCHEDULED FLIGHT COUNTER

FLIGHTS IN THE SCHEDULE 30TH DECEMBER 2024 - 9th November 2025

Our flight frequency counter shows the number of (one-way) flights in the schedule from Monday 30th December 2024* to the end of the current week.

With 33,030,392 flights in total to the end of this week, the average number of commercial flights per day is 104,858.

 

*The 'year' runs from Monday 30th December 2024 when week one of the schedule starts.

 

WEEKLY AIRLINE CAPACITY DATA

 

HOW MUCH AIRLINE CAPACITY IS SCHEDULED THIS WEEK?

This chart shows the most recent weekly global (domestic + international) , domestic and international airline capacity. The dotted line represents capacity in the airlines' future schedules for the next 11 weeks, helping you monitor changes in worldwide airline capacity. 

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AIRLINE AND AIRPORT COUNT | NOVEMBER 2025

 

hOW MANY AIRLINES ARE THERE IN THE WORLD?

  • In November 2025 there are 721 airlines operating worldwide.
  • There are currently 3,962 airports in operation.

 

TOP TWENTY AIRLINES | NOVEMBER 2025

 

WHICH IS THE Biggest AIRLINE IN THE WORLD THIS MONTH?

  • American Airlines remains the world’s largest airline based on frequency this month, operating 183,594 flights - 9,017 more than November 2024, the biggest increase among the Top 20 Airlines. 
  • Delta, United, and Southwest follow closely behind, giving US carriers the top four spots in the rankings. 
  • Three airlines are showing a decline in frequency this month compared to last November; Air Canada and Japan Airlines are both down 1.3%, and Deutsche Lufthansa is down 8.5%. 

 

DOMESTIC MARKETS | NOVEMBER 2025

 

WHERE IS MOST DOMESTIC CAPACITY THIS MONTH?

  • The USA leads as the largest domestic market in November 2025 with 86.5 million seats - 20.9 million more than China, which has 65.6 million seats. However, China recorded the biggest increase in capacity among the Top 10 domestic markets, adding 2.3 million seats compared to last November. 
  • India and Mexico are also seeing strong growth, with seat capacity up 8.9% and 7.9% respectively compared to last year. 
  • Japan, Indonesia, and Spain have each seen a decrease in domestic seat capacity this month compared to last year, with declines of 1.4%, 4.6%, and 7.1% respectively.

 

TOP TWENTY COUNTRY PAIRS FOR TRAVEL | NOVEMBER 2025

 

WHICH TWO COUNTRIES VISIT EACH OTHER MOST?

  • Mexico - USA has replaced Spain - UK as the largest international country pair compared to last month as the peak travel season in Europe comes to an end. The Mexico - USA market is expected to have 4.2m seats this month, which is 0.7m seats larger than the second largest country pair, Spain - UK, which has 3.5m seats.
  • The market pair showing the largest volume growth in seats compared to last year is China - Hong Kong (SAR) China where seats are up by 266,000, which is 23.6% above November 2024.
  • The country pair showing the largest rate of decline is China - Thailand, which is down 16.3% on last year.

 

AIRLINE CAPACITY BY REGION | NOVEMBER 2025

 

WHICH WORLD REGION HAS MOST FLIGHT CAPACITY?

  • This month's global capacity is expected to be 481.9m seats, which is 47m less seats than last month. November is the second-lowest month for global capacity after February.
  • Global capacity is up 4.2% on last year, which equates to 19.2m more seats than November 2024.
  • The two regions showing the largest volume growth in capacity compared to last year are North East Asia and Western Europe, which are up 4.3m and 3.4m seats respectively.
  • Continuing the trend from last month, Southern Africa is expected to record the strongest growth rate amongst the IATA regions compared to last year, up 11.9%.
  • Meanwhile, out of the 17 IATA regions, the Caribbean is the only region where capacity is down, with a reduction in capacity of 2.4% on last year.

OAG MEGAHUBS 2025 THE WORLD'S MOST CONNECTED AIRPORTS, RANKED  

FAQs ABOUT AIRLINE FREQUENCY AND CAPACITY STATS 

 

Where are the Frequency and Capacity statistics sourced from?

All data is sourced from OAG  Schedules and is for the current month and previous months stated per chart. This global airline industry data is unadjusted for the leap year effect. 

How are the frequency and capacity categories on this page defined?
  1. The scheduled flight counter shows the number of flights in the schedule from the first day of the year up until the end of the current week.
  2. Weekly airline capacity shows total global (international + domestic) capacity, international capacity and domestic capacity, measured in seats. It is plotted weekly with a forward view of filed scheduled capacity for the 11 weeks ahead, showing the overall 3 months forward-looking position.
  3. Top 20 Airlines are the 20 largest global airlines by flights based on the current month.
  4. Top 20 Country Pairs are those international country pairs with most seat capacity based on the current month.
  5. Domestic Markets are the 10 largest markets by seats.
  6. Seats by Region is seat capacity for the current month to, from and within each global sub region.

What is airline frequency and why does it matter?

Airline frequency is the number of flights scheduled on a route over a set period. It plays a key role in meeting passenger demand and improving travel convenience. OAG’s air travel statistics show how frequency patterns shift with market trends.

What is airline capacity?

Airline capacity is the number of seats an airline makes available for sale. They will adjust this over time based on demand and trends in the aviation industry.

How does airline capacity differ from passenger numbers?

The exact number of passengers flying will differ from the number of seats available, though we can assume an average load factor (how many seats are filled) of around 83%, although this will be higher for Low Cost Carriers who tend to operate with an average load factor of 90%. Capacity data and passenger numbers will tend to follow the same trend.

What factors influence frequency and capacity planning?

Airlines consider global aviation growth, market demand, route distance, airport slot restrictions, and more to decide how often aircraft should operate, and what size of aircraft to operate on routes.

 How do seasonal trends impact airline frequency and capacity?

Seasonal demand surges, such as holidays, or major events can cause spikes in planned airline capacity, while in off-peak periods airlines may reduce both capacity and frequency. 

 

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