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What are the world’s most profitable airlines? The answer to that is complicated by a range of factors. Profits can vary significantly from year to year and can be sensitive to currency movements. It also depends on what one counts as an airline. For example, does one count British Airways, or International Airlines Group (IAG), of which British Airways is a part? Additionally, some airlines may have a higher total profit, while smaller airlines may have a much larger profit margin adjusted for their revenue. This article will include groups (like IAG) and will list airlines based on the group’s reported profit in 2024/2025. Note that different airlines have different financial years.
For these top five airlines, it will also note their overall revenue and market capitalization. Revenue is the amount of money the airline generated, although high revenue does not necessarily mean an airline is profitable. In 2024, China Southern’s income statement was essentially break-even. A higher market capitalization reflects a combination of the value of the airline’s existing assets and investors’ confidence in generating profit in the future. While India’s fast-expanding low-cost airline, IndiGo, is ranked the fourth most valuable airline in the world, it does not appear in the list of top ten income earners for 2024. The list also excludes cargo airlines like FedEx.
5
Turkish Airlines
Turkish reported a net income of $2.4 billion
Turkish Airlines was the fifth most profitable airline in 2024. It recorded a net profit of $2.4 billion from an income of $22.7 billion. The Turkish flag carrier’s total revenues increased by 8.2% year-on-year in 2024, with passenger revenue rising by 4%. The growth was driven by cargo, surging around 35% compared with the previous year. Turkish Cargo was able to increase its annual cargo volume by over 20%, making it the world’s third-largest air cargo carrier. Turkish Airlines is currently the 15th most valuable airline in the world according to CompaniesMarketCap.com.
Airline profit can be lumpy, especially when viewed quarterly. In the first quarter of 2025, Turkish Minute reported Turkish Airlines recorded a net loss of around $47 million, reversing its profit recorded in the same period the previous year. In the first quarter of 2024, the airline reported a profit of $164 million. At the same time, Turkish Airlines’ revenue continued to grow, reaching around $4.6 billion, up from around $3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025. That represents an increase of around 20%.
The airlines’ reported total equity stands at around $18.7 billion. It should be noted that the Turkish Lira has progressively weakened against the US dollar over the years. One dollar currently equals around 42 Turkish Lira, while it stood at around 38 Turkish Lira in April. Turkish Airlines’ recent figures highlight the importance of looking at longer airline trends to assess profitability than single-year financial results. After Turkish, other notably profitable airlines in 2024 included Singapore Airlines (net income $2 billion), Ryanair (net income $2 billion), and Air France-KLM (net income $1.9 billion).
4
International Airlines Group (IAG)
IAG reported a net income of $3.1 billion
At the end of 2024, IAG reported a net profit after tax of around $3.1 billion. The group saw revenue growth of 9.0% year on year, which it attributed to “our market-leading network, strong brands and operational focus.” International Airlines Group is one of the largest airline groups in Europe (along with Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM Group). The company was formed in 2011, following a merger between British Airways and Spain’s flag carrier, Iberia.
The group recorded a revenue for the year of around $37 billion. The company is headquartered in London and has since acquired BMI, Vueling, and Aer Lingus. Like Lufthansa, IAG is constantly considering purchasing other European airlines, continuing a trend of consolidating Europe’s many airlines into large parent companies, while also maintaining the brands of each.
Over the year, British Airways carried 46 million passengers, followed by Vueling at 38 million, Iberia at 26 million, Aer Lingus at 11 million, and LEVEL at 846,000. As of the time of writing, IAG is the fifth most valuable airline globally with a market cap of $24.5 billion. This places it ahead of Air China, Southwest, and Singapore Airlines, but behind IndiGo and Ryanair.
3
United Airlines
United reported a net income of $3.15 billion
For 2024, United Airlines posted a net income of $3.1 billion (up 20% on 2023) with an adjusted net income of $3.5 billion. Its pre-tax earnings amounted to $4.2 billion, offering a pre-tax margin of 7.3%. The full-year revenue amounted to $57.1 billion, up 6.2% over the previous year. Overall, it had a profit margin of 5.5%, which was an improvement over the 4.9% profit margin seen in 2023.
United Airlines is the second most valuable airline in the world, with a market capitalization of $32.8 billion. This makes it second only to Delta among publicly traded airlines. Like Delta and America, the airline boasts around 1,000 mainline aircraft, making it one of the three largest fleets in the world. The airline is based in Chicago and is a major member of the Star Alliance. The airline took on its current form with the merger of United and Continental in 2012.
In the third quarter of 2025, United recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue. United is one of three US carriers to offer extensive international flights around the world (along with Delta and American). Hawaiian Airlines also operates a limited range of international flights in the Pacific, while JetBlue offers limited transatlantic flights to Western European destinations with narrowbody aircraft. Alaska Airlines has plans to launch international flights to Europe, while other US-based airlines offer flights to sun destinations for US holidaymakers in the greater Caribbean region. Notably, Southwest Airlines does not operate flights to Canada.
2
Delta Air Lines
Delta reported a net income of $3.46 billion
By some measures, Delta Air Lines is the largest airline in the world, although it depends on the criteria used. The airline is currently the most valuable in the world ($40 billion) and boasts a mainline fleet of around 1,000 commercial jets. The only other airline mainline fleets to rival Delta are United Airlines and American Airlines. American Airlines may be one of the world’s largest airlines, but it is currently struggling to turn that into profitability for its shareholders. It is ranked the 19th most valuable airline and had a net income of just $800 million in 2024.
In January 2025, Delta proclaimed “2024 was a great year for Delta,” adding “our people finished the year strong, delivering industry-leading operational and financial performance.” The airline’s full-year financial results include an operating revenue of $61.6 billion, an operating income of $6.0 billion, with an operating margin of 9.7%. Its pre-tax income tallied $4.7 billion and around $3.5 billion after tax.
Separately, Delta is one of the world’s oldest airlines and the oldest in North America. While United and American currently operate all-Boeing widebody fleets, Delta is switching to an all-Airbus widebody fleet. No US-based airline has ordered Boeing’s upcoming Boeing 777X saying the airliner is too big for the North American market. It’s also worth noting, Airport Technology reported that Delta had the largest revenue of any airline in 2023, followed by the other US giants American Airlines and United Airlines, respectively. After the United States, the largest revenue generators were the Lufthansa Group, Emirates, Air France-KLM, and IAG.
1
Emirates
Emirates reported a net income of $5.8 billion
Emirates rounded out the 2024-2025 fiscal year as the world’s most profitable airline. The Emirates Group reported a profit before tax of $6.2 billion, falling to $5.19 billion after tax. Its profit for the period was up 20% compared with the previous year. Emirates is a remarkable airline for multiple reasons. The airline is not only the largest all widebody airline, but it also has the world’s largest fleet of widebody aircraft, edging out United Airlines. The massive Airbus A380 Superjumbo may be seen as an expensive liability by most airlines that operate it, but Emirates shows how it is possible to not only be profitable, but also be the most profitable airline in the world while operating half of the world’s A380s.
The $5.19 billion in profit presented a new record for Emirates. The group stated in a press release that it was “the best result in its history to become the world’s most profitable airline.” The group recorded a revenue of $39.6 billion, which is a 6% increase over the previous year. Emirates, itself, without the rest of the group, had a revenue of $34.9 billion and a profit before tax of $5.8 billion.
Unlike other airlines in this list, Emirates is not a publicly traded company, and so the value of the airline is not known. Emirates is owned by the government of Dubai through its subsidiary, The Emirates Group. This is common for various airlines around the world, although not in the United States. Emirates’ largest regional rival, Qatar Airways, is also completely owned by the Government of Qatar. Emirates’ UAE co-flag carrier, Etihad, is owned by ADQ, an investment and holding company that is part of the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi.
