This article is an overview of the top worldwide airlines, covering the main areas of operations, fleet size, etc. The role of air transport is a small proportion of freight transport. Air cargo represents no more than 0.5 of the weight of all international cargo, and around 30 percent of the total global shipment value. Air transport is an expensive transport mode, but usually the fastest and competitive one to cover medium or long distances.

A common air cargo supply chain consists of Shipping, Forwarding out, Air Transport, Forwarding in, and Consignment.

According to FIATA, air cargo forwarders are the main and important customers for airlines. Forwarders process over 80 percent of international air cargo consignments.

Global Figures

We can see some figures of the top airlines, measuring performance in fleet age, number of aircraft and freight tonne kilometers (FTKs).