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 SEPTEMBER's Airline Frequency and Capacity Data:

  • Global capacity reached 515.1M seats in September,  with growth strongest in Central Asia and Southern Africa.
  • Spain-UK remains the strongest country pair while Chinese-Taipei has seen growth of 17.6% on last year.
  • Domestic air capacity trends show declines in Indonesia, the US, and Japan, but Turkiye is growing, up 16.2% on September last year.
  • United Airlines has added most flights, 6,900 more compared to September 2024.

SCHEDULED FLIGHT COUNTER

FLIGHTS IN THE SCHEDULE 30TH DECEMBER 2024 - 21st September 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 27,880,074 flights in total to the end of this week, the average number of commercial flights per day is 104,812.

 

*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 | SEPTEMBER 2025

 

hOW MANY AIRLINES ARE THERE IN THE WORLD?

  • In September 2025 there are 724 airlines operating worldwide.
  • There are currently 3,945 airports in operation.

 

TOP TWENTY AIRLINES | SEPTEMBER 2025

 

WHICH IS THE Biggest AIRLINE IN THE WORLD THIS MONTH?

  • Within the Top 20 airlines, United Airlines continues to be the airline adding the most extra frequency, with 6,900 more frequencies compared to September 2024.
  • This is followed by Delta Air Lines which is up by 5,500.
  • In a change from earlier this year, IndiGo is now reducing flying compared to last year (-0.5%), unlike the strong growth shown by the airline in the first half of the year.
  • The airline showing the fastest growth rate this month is Turkish Airlines, up 7.9% while the airline reducing most is Azul Airlines, down 9.2%. 

 

DOMESTIC MARKETS | SEPTEMBER 2025

 

WHERE IS MOST DOMESTIC CAPACITY THIS MONTH?

  • There is mixed performance amongst the world's largest domestic markets this month. In a repeat of last month's trend, Indonesia sees the biggest fall (down 12.2% this month), with Japan, India and the USA also all seeing capacity contract.
  • There is strong growth in the domestic market in Turkiye, up 16.2%, which has 740,000 more seats than September 2024.
  • Other markets showing significant growth above 5% on last year are Canada and Australia, both up 7%, and Brazil up 5%. 

 

TOP TWENTY COUNTRY PAIRS FOR TRAVEL | SEPTEMBER 2025

 

WHICH TWO COUNTRIES VISIT EACH OTHER MOST?

  • Spain - UK remains the largest international market with 5.6m seats this month, which is over 2.3m seats larger than the second largest international market, Germany - Spain with 3.2m seats.
  • Chinese Taipei - Japan is the market in the Top 20 with the largest growth rate, up 17.6% on last year, followed by China - Japan (+13.9%) and Germany - Turkiye (+11.7%).
  • The market in the Top 20 showing the largest rate of decline for this month is Canada - USA (-8.2%) as the airlines reduce capacity in this market in response to the weakening demand, when compared to this time last year.
  • Two other markets are also showing a decline in capacity of more than 2% this month, namely France - Italy (-2.9%) and Germany - Spain (-2.1%). 

 

AIRLINE CAPACITY BY REGION | SEPTEMBER 2025

 

WHICH WORLD REGION HAS MOST FLIGHT CAPACITY?

  • This month capacity is expected to be 515.1m seats, which is considerably lower than the peak month of July when capacity hit 559m seats. Capacity growth year on year for this month is expected to be 2.4% ahead of last year.
  • Central Asia continues to record strongest growth amongst the IATA regions compared to last year, up 12.1%.
  • The four African regions are all showing growth this month, with Southern Africa highest at 10.3% ahead of last September.
  • Meanwhile capacity is down in three regions when compared to September 2024; North America is down 0.4%, Upper South America is down 2.7% and most significant decline is the Caribbean, -3.4% on last year. 

CAN AI AND THE RIGHT DATA REWRITE THE RULES OF AIRLINE PERFORMANCE?  

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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