The North American region will grow by 3.3 percent annually and in 2034 will carry a total of 1.4 billion passengers, an additional 649 million passengers a year, according to the International Air Transport Association's Global Passenger Forecast Report.
Edited by Benet Wilson
1. American Airlines
American Airlines took the top spot in North America after its merger with US Airways. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier handled 197.3 million passengers with 6500 daily departures. It has hubs in: Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York); Los Angeles International Airport; Miami International Airport; Chicago O'Hare International Airport; Philadelphia International Airport; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.More »
2. Delta Air Lines
Seven years after its merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta carried 171.3 million passengers with 5400 daily departures. It has hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita.More »
3. Southwest Airlines
The granddaddy of low-cost airlines in the United States carried 135.7 million passengers with 3600 daily departures. Its top five focus cities are Chicago Midway, Baltimore-Washington, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix.More »
4. United Airlines
Four years after its merger with Continental Airlines, United carried 138 million passengers with 4935 daily departures. Its hubs are Guam's Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport; Denver International Airport; Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport; Los Angeles International Airport; Tokyo's Narita International Airport; Newark Liberty International Airport; Chicago O'Hare International Airport; San Francisco International Airport; and Washington Dulles International Airport.More »
5. Air Canada
Canada's flag carrier handled 38.5 million passengers with 1500 daily departures. Its hubs are Toronto-Pearson International Airport, Calgary International Airport, Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.More »
6. JetBlue
The New York-based carrier handled 32 million passengers with 825 daily departures. Its focus cities are Boston-Logan International Airport, Long Beach Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Orlando International Airport and Puerto Rico's San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.More »
7. Alaska Airlines
Seattle's hometown airline carried 29.2 million passengers with 880 daily departures. Its hubs are Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Portland International Airport.More »
8. WestJet
The Calgary-based low-cost carrier handled 19.6 million passengers with 420 daily departures. It has hubs at Calgary International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport, along with focus cities at Edmonton International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.More »
9. Aeromexico
Mexico's flag carrier handled 17.1 million passengers. Its hubs are Mexico City International Airport, Guadalajara'a Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, General Ignacio Pesqueira García International Airport in Hermosillo and General Mariano Escobedo International Airport in Monterrey.More »
10. Spirit Airlines
ExpressWho? ExpressJet is the surprising tenth entry on the list of biggest airlines in North America based on passenger numbers. If there is any doubt that regional airlines rule some altitudes of the North American skies, well this list shows how dominant regional carriers are.
ExpressJet will be folded in with Skywest as its subsidiary - Atlantic Southeast Airlines - has recently merged with ExpressJet. ExpressJet has flown regionally under the Continental Airlines banner.More »