Global aviation market briefing
Frequency, capacity and ASK data for airlines worldwide
September 2026
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Weekly scheduled flight counter
Flights in the schedule 29th December 2025 - 6th September 2026
Our flight frequency counter shows the number of (one-way) flights in the schedule from Monday 29th December 2025* to the end of the current week. With 27,369,599 flights in total to the end of this week, the average number of commercial flights per day so far this year is 105,674.
*The 'year' runs from Monday 29th December 2025 when week one of the schedule starts.
How is global airline capacity trending in 2026?
Global weekly capacity: domestic & international
North East Asia is the largest contributor to growth this month, up 5.0 million seats on last year, followed by Western Europe which is up 3.4 million seats. Eastern/Central Europe shows strong percentage growth, up 10.3%. There are five regions with less capacity than September 2025: the Middle East (−1.4m seats, −5.7%), South Asia (−899,000 seats), Central America (−129,000 seats), Southwest Pacific (−106,000 seats) and the Caribbean (−9,000 seats). The region showing the largest growth rate is Central/Western Africa, up 16.9% to 3.3 million seats.
Which regions are growing or declining in September 2026?
Global capacity is up 2.6% in September 2026, with strong growth in North East Asia (+5.0m seats) and Western Europe (+3.4m seats). Five regions are contracting year on year: the Middle East (−5.7%), South Asia (−3.8%), Central America (−1.2%), Southwest Pacific (−0.9%) and the Caribbean (−0.3%). The fastest-growing region by rate is Central/Western Africa, up 16.9% to 3.3 million seats, followed by Central Asia (+12.3%) and North Africa (+12.1%).
Capacity by region: scale vs trajectory
Which airlines are operating most flights in September 2026?
Alaska Airlines continues to record strong frequency growth this summer, with flights up 22.3% year on year, following the recent integration of Hawaiian Airlines. The other North American carriers in the Top 20 are also up, ranging from 0.2% growth at Southwest Airlines to 5.2% at American Airlines. In Europe, Ryanair continues to grow, up 4.5% compared with last September, while the other major European airlines recording growth this month are SAS (+2.4%), easyJet (+1.7%) and Turkish Airlines (+0.4%). Across the Top 20 airlines, three carriers are reducing capacity by more than 7% this month: All Nippon Airways (-7.2%), IndiGo (-7.8%) and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (-10.5%).
Top 20 airlines by frequency
Which airlines have the most international ASKs in September 2026?
Emirates and Qatar Airways continue to record lower-than-average ASKs due to the Middle East situation, down year on year by 6.0% and 4.2% respectively. Etihad Airways is bucking that trend, however, and continues to show strong ASK growth, up 12.4% this month. Apart from Emirates and Qatar Airways, the other carriers down this month in terms of international ASKs are British Airways (-0.4%), Air France (-1.0%) and United Airlines (-1.3%). The two Chinese carriers, China Eastern Airlines and Air China, are showing the fastest growth rates within the Top 20, up 16.5% and 16.4% respectively.
Top 10 airlines by international ASKs
Which international country pairs are busiest in September 2026?
Spain - United Kingdom remains the largest international country pair this month, with 6m seats, up 475,000 seats on last year and equivalent to growth of 8.5%. As in last month's performance, the two fastest-growing markets involve the Republic of Korea: China - Republic of Korea is up 26.2%, while Japan - Republic of Korea is up 23.8%. The two markets with the largest rates of decline both involve the US, with UK - USA down 6.7% and Mexico - USA down 5.4%.
Country-pair flows on the map
Source: OAG · September 2026 scheduled capacity · bidirectional pairs
In terms of growth rates, China - Republic of Korea is showing the largest growth rate, up 26.2%, followed by Japan - Republic of Korea which is up 23.8% and Italy - Spain which is up 11.8%. The two markets with the largest rates of decline both involve the US: UK - USA is down 6.7% and Mexico - USA is down 5.4%. India - UAE is also down, by 4.4%, and Germany - Turkiye by 3.2%.
Which domestic markets are growing fastest in September 2026?
This month, Indonesia is the fastest-growing domestic market, up 9.5% year on year. Other Top 10 domestic markets growing by more than 5% are Canada (+6.8%), China (+5.9%), Brazil (+5.7%) and Turkiye (+5.2%). India shows the largest decline within the Top 10, down 5.6% compared with September 2025. Three other domestic markets are also lower than September 2025: Japan (-0.2%), Mexico (-1.5%) and Australia (-1.6%).
Top 10 domestic markets by seat capacity
Global aviation frequency & capacity: frequently asked questions
Top 20 airlines by flight frequency — September 2026
| # | Airline | Flights (Sep 2026) | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines | 185,470 | +5.2% |
| 2 | United Airlines | 149,829 | +4.0% |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | 149,522 | +0.5% |
| 4 | Southwest Airlines | 112,186 | +0.2% |
| 5 | Ryanair | 108,328 | +4.5% |
| 6 | China Eastern Airlines | 74,820 | +6.7% |
| 7 | China Southern Airlines | 70,718 | +4.6% |
| 8 | IndiGo | 58,316 | -7.8% |
| 9 | easyJet | 56,436 | +1.7% |
| 10 | Air China | 54,460 | +6.2% |
| 11 | LATAM Airlines Group | 51,387 | +5.5% |
| 12 | Alaska Airlines | 45,946 | +22.3% |
| 13 | Turkish Airlines | 37,766 | +0.4% |
| 14 | Air Canada | 33,603 | +2.3% |
| 15 | Deutsche Lufthansa AG | 31,702 | -10.5% |
| 16 | British Airways | 26,480 | -1.1% |
| 17 | Japan Airlines | 25,558 | -0.8% |
| 18 | All Nippon Airways | 25,210 | -7.2% |
| 19 | Azul Airlines | 24,308 | -0.8% |
| 20 | SAS Scandinavian Airlines | 24,237 | +2.4% |
Regional capacity changes — September 2026 vs September 2025
Regions adding most capacity: Central/Western Africa leads growth at +16.9% (3.3m seats); Eastern/Central Europe +12.1% (23.4m seats); North Africa +12.3% (3.2m seats); South America/Caribbean +10.3% (23.4m seats); North East Asia +4.6% (114.0m seats); Western Europe +2.9% (122.4m seats).
Regions removing most capacity: South America (South) −5.7% (37.9m seats); South East Asia −3.8% (108.2m seats); Middle East −5.7% (22.4m seats); South West Pacific −1.2% (17.8m seats); North America +0.8% (108.2m seats, modest growth only).
Source: OAG scheduled capacity data, September 2026.
Global capacity this month has increased by 13.3m seats compared with September 2025, equivalent to growth of 2.6%. North East Asia has seen the most volume growth, increasing by 5m seats, followed by Western Europe, which increased by 3.4m seats. The strongest growth rate was in Central/Western Africa, where capacity rose by 16.9% year on year. The Middle East remains below last year, down 1.4m seats, or 5.7%, reflecting the continuing instability in the region. Four other regions are also below last year: the Caribbean (-9,000 seats), Southwest Pacific (-106,000 seats), Central America (-129,000 seats) and South Asia (-899,000 seats).