During 2024, airlines offered 5.85 billion seats on scheduled flights worldwide, exceeding the previous record of 5.72 billion seats set in 2019, by 2%. Global seat capacity also increased by 6% year-on-year in 2024, fuelled by surging demand for air travel, and airlines deploying larger aircraft to meet this demand.
Despite the rise in seat availability, the total number of scheduled flights in 2024, at 36.4 million, remained 5% below 2019 levels, emphasising airlines’ shift toward operating larger aircraft with higher seating capacities.
Looking back on 2024, it is clear that demand for air travel continued to rise, with airlines matching this demand by providing a record-breaking 5.85 billion seats globally.
The fact that the industry has managed to exceed 2019 highs just a few years post-pandemic shows the strength air travel has in today’s world – whether that be connecting families and friends, allowing important face-to-face business meetings, or simply allowing travellers to explore new parts of the world.
Industry leaders and trends in 2024
Cirium’s analysis found that American Airlines is the leading carrier in passenger seat offerings, followed by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. European low-cost airline Ryanair ranked fifth, and is the only non-US operator in the top tier.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was identified as the world’s busiest airport, with over 62.7 million departing seats, while Dubai International ranked second, with 59.7 million seats. Tokyo-Haneda, London Heathrow and Dallas-Fort Worth followed, with over 55, 52.4 and 51.4 million departing seats, respectively.
Asia emerged as a dominant force in the busiest routes globally, with eight of the top ten routes in the region. The Seoul-Gimpo to Jeju route ranked first, with over 15 million annual seats. The remaining busiest routes included one in the Middle East and one in Australia.
Enhanced efficiency in aviation operations
Cirium’s data highlights a significant increase in average flight capacity, which rose to 161 seats per flight in 2024, compared to 150 seats in 2019, and just 140 seats a decade ago.
Airlines achieved this efficiency by deploying larger aircraft – for example by replacing A319s with larger A320neos and A321neos at slot-constrained airports, and optimising seat configurations on existing models.
