Since 1949

WATS +
World Air Transport Statistics
2019
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World Air Transport Statistics, Plus Edition 2019

Material No.: 8288-63
ISBN 978-92-9229-967-5
© 2019 International Air Transport Association. All rights reserved.
Montreal—Geneva
SUMMARY OF PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAFFIC

Passenger and freight traffic World scheduled passenger and freight traffic by region
of airline domicile – Revenue Tonne-Kilometres (millions)

Asia Pacific 34.3%

Europe 26.3%

81.9%
LOAD FACTOR
Revenue Passenger-Kilometers (millions): Africa 2.2%
8,329,776
Latin America 4.5%
Available Seat-Kilometers (millions):
10,174,828 North America 22.4%

Middle East 10.4%

Share of Revenue Passenger- Kilometres by Airline Type

49.3%
LOAD FACTOR
Freight and Mail Tonne-Kilometers (millions):
262,333 Traditional/Legacy 75%
Available Freight Tonne Kilometers (millions):
532,000
Low cost 22%

Leisure 3%

OPERATING AND NET RESULTS

(US$ millions)
IN THIS VERSION OF

WATS
2010 27,600 17,300

2011 19,800 8,300

2012 18,400 9,200

2013 25,300 10,700

2019
2014 35,450 13,802

2015 61,962 35,971

2016 60,144 34,191

2017 56,600 37,600

2018* 47,000 30,000

*Preliminary Operating Result Net Result

TOP AIRLINES BY RPK AND FTK

Top 10 Passenger (RPK) Top 10 Cargo (FTK)

American Airlines 330,577 Federal Express 17,499

Delta Air Lines 330,034 Emirates 12,713

United Airlines 329,562 Qatar Airways 12,695

Emirates 302,298 United Parcel Service 12,459

Southwest Airlines (2) 214,561 Cathay Pacific Airways 11,284

China Southern Airlines (3) 200,239 Korean Air 7,839

Ryanair (4) 170,900 Lufthansa (3) 7,394

China Eastern Airlines 166,282 Cargolux 7,322

Air China 161,199 Air China 7,051

Lufthansa (3) 158,986 China Southern Airlines (3) 6,597

* Airline has additional notes, please refer to Ranking Table 4.1 * Airline has additional notes, please refer to Ranking Table 4.2
TRAFFIC BY ROUTE AREA

Percentage of international scheduled Revenue Passenger-Kilometers

North Europe Asia

America
7.8% 12.1% 10.4% 7.8%
18.9% 13.9%
5.4%
3.0% 0.5%
2.0% 7.7%
3.2%
1.3%

0.3% Central America 3.6% Middle

2.1% East
Caribbean 3.7%
1.7%
0.7%
1.3%
Africa
2.4% 0.9%

South Southwest
America Pacific

TRAFFIC BY ROUTE AREA

Percentage of international scheduled Freight Tonnes-Kilometers

North Europe Asia

America
23.6% 13.5% 21.4% 23.6%
2.8% 9.0%
5.6%
0.6% 0.8%
2.5% 6.8%
1.2%
0.9%

0.0% Central America 2.5% Middle

2.2% East
Caribbean 3.0%
1.2%
0.2%
0.9%
Africa
3.2% 0.3%

South Southwest
America Pacific
Foreword
The airline industry maintained its unprecedented run of financial sustainability in
2018 as it delivered a ninth consecutive aggregate annual profit. Shareholders were
rewarded with a fourth straight year in which the industry generated a return on
invested capital that exceeded the weighted average cost of capital. Expectations
are that both trends will continue at least through 2019.
What’s good for investors is also good for consumers and shippers. The world’s
airlines safely carried 4.3 billion passengers last year, on some 126,000 daily flights
connecting over 21,000 city pairs. They transported nearly 64 million tonnes of
freight, equivalent to $6.67 trillion, or more than a third of world trade by value. And
they did so while continuing to drive down the cost of air connectivity: After
adjusting for inflation, the average return fare in 2018 was 60% lower than in 1998,
before taxes and surcharges, while the cost of air freight ($/Kg) was down 61% over
the same period.

Aviation is good for local economies too: $843 billion in tourism spending was made possible by air travel last year, while
governments collected $129 billion in tax revenues from airlines and air travel.
The benefits of aviation will grow as demand for air travel doubles by 2037. For that to occur, however, aviation must be
supported by sufficient infrastructure that is efficient and affordable - which is not even the case today around the world.
It’s not an exaggeration to state that aviation already faces an infrastructure crisis. Decisions made today will have an
impact on how much value aviation can create in 20 years.
Aviation must also grow in an environmentally responsible manner. The industry remains committed to its goals of carbon-
neutral growth from 2020 onwards and cutting CO2 emissions to half 2005 levels by 2050. Mandatory emissions reporting
began on 1 January 2019 under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Airlines’ license to grow will be offsets that they purchase to support carbon-reduction programs in other parts of the
economy.
Global standards that ensure a safe, efficient and sustainable industry are also vital in helping grow the value that aviation
delivers. The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) is the recognized benchmark for operational safety audits. The
Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) is an established and efficient mechanism for allocating airport slots. The New
Distribution Capability is enabling airlines to customize and personalize their offers to air travelers in all shopping channels.
ONE Order will modernize the order management process and replace the confusing array of e-tickets, PNRs and
electronic miscellaneous documents with a single order number. One Identity seeks to streamline the passenger journey
with a document-free process based on identity management and biometric recognition. For 74 years, IATA has supported
the development of standards and best practices necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the global air transport
network.
Aviation is the Business of Freedom. It liberates us from the constraints of geography and distance. In doing so, it
empowers us to lead better lives, and makes the world a better place. The World Air Transport Statistics is the
authoritative yearbook for our industry and provides the numbers and analysis behind the story of the Business of
Freedom.

Alexandre de Juniac
Director General and CEO
International Air Transport Association
 World Air Transport Statistics

Acknowledgements
IATA would like to express its appreciation to the following contributors for their valuable input to this publication:
• Airlines participating in the AATS 2018 data collection
• Airports Council International (ACI)
• Alain Gagnon, Graphic Designer
• Attilio Costaguta, Statistics Consultant
• Chris Tarry, CTAIRA
• Innodata

4 WATS 2019
 Table of Contents
Industry Economic Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Industry Financial Analysis ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Industry Environment Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................. 39
Section 1—Demand for Air Transport 2018 .......................................................................................................................................... 43
1.1 World Air Transport Traffic ............................................................................................................................................................... 43
1.2 World Air Transport Traffic by Region of Airline Domicile ............................................................................................................... 45
1.3 World Air Transport International Traffic by Region......................................................................................................................... 48
1.4 World Air Transport Traffic by Route Area....................................................................................................................................... 49
1.5 Premium Passenger Demand .......................................................................................................................................................... 49
1.6 Passenger Traffic by Nationality ..................................................................................................................................................... 51
1.7 Passenger and Freight Forecasts ................................................................................................................................................... 53

Section 2—Supply of Air Transport 2018 ............................................................................................................................................... 55

2.1 Operating Fleet of Airlines................................................................................................................................................................ 55
2.2 Scheduled Passenger Capacity ....................................................................................................................................................... 57

Section 3—Performance of the Air Transport Industry 2018 ............................................................................................................ 59

3.1 Profits and Losses............................................................................................................................................................................ 59
3.1.1 Corporate Financial Results ................................................................................................................................................ 59
3.1.2 Regional Financial Results .................................................................................................................................................. 63
3.1.3 Breakdown of Airline Costs.................................................................................................................................................. 64
3.2 Airline Safety and Security Statistics................................................................................................................................................ 65
3.2.1 Airline Safety Statistics ........................................................................................................................................................ 65
3.2.2 Airline Security Statistics ..................................................................................................................................................... 68

Section 4—Rankings 2018 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 73

4.1 Top 200 Airlines: Ranked by Passenger Traffic............................................................................................................................... 73
4.2 Top 100 Airlines: Ranked by Freight Traffic..................................................................................................................................... 81
4.3 Top Passenger Airport–Pairs ........................................................................................................................................................... 85
4.4 Top Passenger Countries................................................................................................................................................................. 93
4.5 Top Freight Country–Pairs, International and Regional Traffic........................................................................................................ 96
4.6 Airline Alliances: Ranked by Traffic.................................................................................................................................................. 99
4.7 World Airport Rankings .................................................................................................................................................................. 100
4.8 Top 50 Airlines: Ranked by Financial Results ............................................................................................................................... 104
4.9 Top 50 Airlines: Ranked by Total Employees ................................................................................................................................ 106
4.10 Top 25 Airlines: Ranked by Fleet................................................................................................................................................. 107

Section 5—Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................... 111

5.1 Definition of Statistical Terms......................................................................................................................................................... 111
5.2 IATA Data Resources..................................................................................................................................................................... 115
5.3 Geographical Definitions ................................................................................................................................................................ 116

Appendix A—Airline Operations and Fleet 2018 .................................................................................................................................. A-1

Appendix B—Airline Employees 2018 ..................................................................................................................................................... B-1
Appendix C—Airline Financial Results 2018 ......................................................................................................................................... C-1

WATS 2019 5