Airline Frequency and Capacity Statistics | Aviation Data | OAG

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 December's Airline Frequency and Capacity Data:

Global airline capacity is forecast to reach 507.6m seats - an increase of 26m seats vs last month and 4.7% higher than the same period last year.
Mexico - USA remains the largest international country pair, with 5.1 million seats.
The USA remains the largest domestic market with 88.2 million seats.
American Airlines remains the world’s largest airline by frequency with 190,285 flights scheduled.

WHICH IS THE Biggest AIRLINE IN THE WORLD THIS MONTH?

American Airlines remains the world’s largest airline by frequency in December 2025, with 190,285 flights scheduled. This is 7,828 more flights than in December 2024, the biggest increase in frequency of those in the Top 20.
Three airlines are showing an increase in frequency of more than 10% this month compared to last year: Chinese carriers China Southern Airlines and Air China, which are up 12.3% and 10.6% respectively, and Turkish Airlines, which is up 10.0%.
Four airlines are operating fewer flights than this time last year: All Nippon Airways (-0.7%), JetBlue (-1.2%), Japan Airlines (-1.5%) and Lufthansa (-7.3%).

WHERE IS MOST DOMESTIC CAPACITY THIS MONTH?

In December 2025, the USA remains the largest domestic market with 88.2 million seats, putting it 19.5 million seats ahead of China, the second-largest market with 68.7 million seats.
However, China's domestic market is expected to experience the largest increase in seat capacity of those in the Top 10 this month, with an additional 4.5m seats compared to December 2024.
The market showing the largest growth rate is Mexico, where seats have increased by 11.0% year-on-year.
Two domestic markets are seeing a year-on-year decline in capacity this month: Japan, down 2.7%, and Indonesia, down 5.6%.

WHICH TWO COUNTRIES VISIT EACH OTHER MOST?

Mexico - USA remains the largest international country pair in December 2025, with 5.1 million seats. That’s 1.6 million more seats than the second-largest market, Spain - UK, which has 3.5 million seats.
The market pair showing the largest volume growth in seats compared to last year is Japan - Republic of Korea, where seats are up by 267,000, which is 10.4% above December 2024.
The country pair in the Top 20 showing the largest rate of decline is China - Thailand, which is down 14.6% on last year, followed closely by China - Japan market, which is down 14.1% following the recent dispute between China and Japan.

WHICH WORLD REGION HAS MOST FLIGHT CAPACITY?

In December 2025, global airline capacity is forecast to reach 507.6 million seats - an increase of 26 million seats compared to last month. This is 4.7% higher than the same period last year, adding 22.8 million more seats than December 2024.
The two regions showing the largest volume growth in flight capacity compared to last year are North East Asia and Western Europe, which are up 6.2m and 3.8m seats respectively.
Central America is expected to record the strongest growth rate amongst the IATA regions compared to last year, up 9.0%.
Out of the 17 IATA regions, the Caribbean is the only region where capacity is down, with a reduction in capacity of 1.5% on last year - which is a trend continuing from last month.

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?

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.
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.
Top 20 Airlines are the 20 largest global airlines by flights based on the current month.
Top 20 Country Pairs are those international country pairs with most seat capacity based on the current month.
Domestic Markets are the 10 largest markets by seats.
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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