The largest airlines in Europe
There are around 195 air carriers operating in Europe. This figure is constantly changing as new airlines are established every year and some go bankrupt. Below you can find out which of them are the largest in Europe in terms of the number of passengers carried.
10. SAS Group
Passengers carried: 29.8
Number of planes: 156
SAS is a group of Scandinavian air carriers founded in 1997 under the auspices of Star Alliance and Air Canada. The majority owners of the airline group are Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The merger of airlines under one group was decided by the said countries to reduce the management costs and provide greater competitiveness.
9. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA
Passengers carried: 36.3
Number of planes:152
Norwegian is the third largest European low-cost airline, immediately after Ryanair and EasyJet. Until 2002, it mostly focused on regional flights across Scandinavia, and, after being sold to the SAS Group in 2002, it transformed into an international airline. Today, Norwegian Airline is the largest airline in Scandinavia.
8. Wizzair
Passengers carried: 39.8
Number of planes: 120
Wizzair is a relatively young Hungarian airline. It was founded in 2003 with its registered office in Budapest. Its rapid growth has contributed to the expansion of the fleet, which today comprises 120 planes. Wizzair is mainly focused on inter-Europe flights with a few exceptions.
7. Aeroflot
Passengers carried: 60.7
Number of planes: 371
Aeroflot is the largest Russian airline and is majority-owned by the State. Its history dates back to the period of the Soviet Union, when Aeroflot was the largest airline in the world. Today, it is part of Skyteam Alliance, offering connections to 146 destinations around the world.
6. Turkish airlines
Passengers carried: 74.3
Number of planes: 346
When it was founded in 1933, Turkish airlines owned only one plane that could carry 5 people. With time, it has become the main Turkish airline based at the Atatürk Airport. In 2019, it was declared the airline with the most destinations in the world (315).
5. Easyjet
Passengers carried: 96.1
Number of planes: 300
EasyJet PLC, also known as EasyJet, is a British airline with its primary airport at London Luton Airport. In Europe, there are 29 other bases under EasyJet PLC, the largest of which is Gatwick Airport.
4. Airfrance & KLM
Passengers carried: 104.2
Number of planes: 574
Air France-KLM S. A., also known as the Air France KLM Group, is a French-Danish airline. In 2014, Air France-KLM S. A. carried 87.3 million passengers. As one of the largest airlines, it also generated the most revenue in 2008.
3. International Airlines group
Passengers carried: 118.3
Number of planes: 520
IA group was founded in 2011 with the merger of two leading airlines in Europe, i.e. Iberia and British Airways. Together, they created the 6th largest airline in the world, accounting for $24 billion of revenue in 2018.
2. Lufthansa group
Passengers carried: 145.2
Number of planes: 728
Lufthansa is the largest German airline offering over 321 destinations. However, the Lufthansa Group not only includes the Lufthansa airline but also Austrian airlines, Brussels airlines and Eurowings. With its large number of planes, Lufthansa also ranks among the largest in the world in terms of the number of planes and occupies 11th place.
1. Ryanair
Passengers carried: 152.4
Number of planes: 430
Ryanair is the largest airline in Europe in terms of the number of passengers. Its beginnings date back to 1984, when it was founded in Ireland under the name Danren Enterprises. Today, the company employs over 19,000 people in various airlines belonging to Ryanair (such as Lauda and Malta Air).
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