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 OCTOBER's Airline Frequency and Capacity Data:

  • Global capacity is expected to be 529m seats, which is 20m seats ahead of October 2024.
  • Spain - UK remains the largest international country pair with 5.3m seats, while Germany - Turkiye recorded the largest volume growth.
  • The USA remains the largest domestic market with 92.1m seats this month. Brazil and Canada also recorded significant growth at 6.5% and 5.1% respectively.
  • United Airlines has added most flights, 7,000 more compared to October 2024.

SCHEDULED FLIGHT COUNTER

FLIGHTS IN THE SCHEDULE 30TH DECEMBER 2024 - 12th October 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 30,133,558 flights in total to the end of this week, the average number of commercial flights per day is 105,362.

 

*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. 

SIGN UP TO WEEKLY CAPACITY UPDATES

We provide a weekly email update on Global, International & Domestic airline capacity, alongside a summary of our popular blogs with expert travel & aviation industry analysis. Sign up for a weekly digest of the best from OAG.

AIRLINE AND AIRPORT COUNT | OCTOBER 2025

 

hOW MANY AIRLINES ARE THERE IN THE WORLD?

  • In October 2025 there are 732 airlines operating worldwide.
  • There are currently 3,948 airports in operation.

 

TOP TWENTY AIRLINES | OCTOBER 2025

 

WHICH IS THE Biggest AIRLINE IN THE WORLD THIS MONTH?

  • Of those in the Top 20, United Airlines continues to be the airline adding the most extra frequency, with 7,000 more frequencies compared to October 2024. This is followed by Delta Air Lines, which is up by 6,800 frequencies.
  • Turkish Airlines leads with the fastest growth this month, increasing by 14.9% and adding 4,900 flights, for a total of 37,600 flights in October. 
  • Showing the largest rate of decline this month are Lufthansa which is down 5.0% and Azul which is down 10.0%.

 

DOMESTIC MARKETS | OCTOBER 2025

 

WHERE IS MOST DOMESTIC CAPACITY THIS MONTH?

  • The USA leads as the largest domestic market this month, offering 92.1 million seats - 19.5 million more than China’s 72.5 million. However, China has recorded the biggest growth of those in the Top 10, adding 2.7 million more seats compared to last October.
  • Indonesia’s domestic market has seen another decline this month, with seat capacity down by 6.3%. Japan is also experiencing a reduction in domestic capacity.
  • Markets showing significant growth rates above 5% on last year are Brazil where seats have increased by 6.5% and Canada by 5.1%.

 

TOP TWENTY COUNTRY PAIRS FOR TRAVEL | OCTOBER 2025

 

WHICH TWO COUNTRIES VISIT EACH OTHER MOST?

  • Spain - UK remains the largest international country pair with 5.3m seats this month - over 1.7 million more than the next largest pair, Mexico - USA, which has 3.6 million seats.
  • The market pair showing the largest volume growth in seats compared to last October is Germany - Turkiye, where seats are increasing by 376,000.
  • For the second month in a row, the country pair in the Top 20 showing the largest rate of decline is Canada - USA (-7.0%) as the airlines reduce capacity in this market in response to weakening demand.
  • The other country pair showing a decline in capacity of more than 2% this month is UK - USA, which is down 2.3% on last year.

 

AIRLINE CAPACITY BY REGION | OCTOBER 2025

 

WHICH WORLD REGION HAS MOST FLIGHT CAPACITY?

  • Global capacity is expected to be 529m seats, which is 20m seats ahead of October 2024.
  • Capacity growth year on year for this month will be 3.9% ahead of last year, which is above the growth recorded last month of 2.4%.
  • Southern Africa is expected to record the strongest growth amongst the IATA regions compared to last year, up 12.5%.
  • The two regions showing the largest volume growth in capacity are North East Asia and Western Europe, both seeing an increase of 4.6m seats compared to last October.
  • Meanwhile, capacity is down in two regions compared to October 2024; the Caribbean by 0.4% and the most significant decline is the Upper South America region, down 1.4% 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. 

 

MORE RESOURCES FROM OAG

 

Busiest Airports

Busiest Routes

Data and analysis on the busiest global, international and regional airports, updated monthly.

View Now
Webinars

Webinars

Catch up on our latest live webinar with industry experts.

Watch Now
Aviation Market Analysis

Aviation Market Analysis

Analysis of the latest data and developments in the aviation world.

Read Now
China Dash

China Aviation market Data

The busiest airports, largest airlines, biggest cities for airline capacity and more

View Data
US Square

US Aviation Market Data

This month's leading airlines, airports, states and more from the US market.

View Data
SE asia square

South East Asian Aviation Market Data

SE Asia's biggest country markets, airports, airlines and more are updated each month.

View Data