Is American Airlines a big company?
At present, American Airlines is considered one of the world’s largest airlines. It has roots going back over eighty years of its existence. American Airlines was formed in 1930 as a result of a merger between many small airlines. Over the decades, it developed into a massive airline company and a holder of a significant amount of stock. Currently, American Airlines ferries about 7,000+ daily flights through its regional members to over 350 destinations in more than fifty countries. With such a vast network of travelers, American Airlines moves hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis. This makes it one of the largest airlines in the world by most parameters or aspects.
American Airlines, in terms of fleet size, has more than nine hundred aircraft in its fleet. The majority of these are narrow-body jets that are mainly used domestically. But it also has several wide-body jets used for international long-haul flights’ Bachman (2016). Such aircraft exist within Airbus, Boeing, and other producers. A constant trend at American Airlines is to acquire new plane models for the purpose of fleet renewal. These aircraft purchases are generally on a large scale, where airlines spend tens of billions of dollars to acquire these aircraft, and this is large considering the fact that most airlines have limited budgets.
American Airlines also expanded over the decades as it acquired other airlines and merged with them. It acquired Trans World Airlines in 2001 and US Airways in 2015. These mergers made American Airlines the largest airline in the world for a few years. It has grown and, in some ways, today stands in second place after Delta Air Lines. However, it will go down in history as one of the largest airlines in terms of fleet size, passenger traffic, number of destinations served, and revenue earnings.
As per the data from 2020, American Airlines had operating revenue of more than forty-four billion US dollars. Even if the airlines’ revenues were only $29,272 million, down by over thirty percent in comparison with the year 2019 because of the COVID-19 crisis, America remains among the leaders in the global air transport industry. The airline has a larger operation than smaller regional or low-cost airlines and has a significant history. The American Airlines net income recorded before the pandemic outbreak was more than one and a half billion dollars. It’s considered to be among the most profitable airline companies worldwide.
Similarly, American Airlines has a workforce of over one hundred thousand employees across the world. This makes it one of the largest employers in terms of size within the airline industry. The numerous pilots, flight attendants, reservations personnel, technicians, baggage handlers, and other employees of this company reflect the large operating environment. The prospect of controlling a workforce of this magnitude with employees located in airports all around the globe is a challenge that can only be accomplished by large airlines.
It faces stiff competition from other major domestic airlines in its home market, including Delta Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. This is often on the domestic scene, where American frequently comes out first or second to Delta with regard to passenger traffic. On many of the most popular routes, like New York to Los Angeles or Chicago to Dallas, American Airlines offers far more flights per day than companies of similar size. From this, it is evident that American has a strong hold on the strategic routes to other North American airline destinations.
Globally, American Airlines is one of the major airline companies from North America to Europe, South and Central America, and Asia. It uses cooperation with foreign airlines to expand its possibilities. American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance, which was formed with other major airlines including British Airways, Qantas Airways, and so on. This arrangement will make it possible for the airlines to have cooperation on the routes, the frequency at which they fly, the frequent flyer programs, and the facilities of the airport. The advantage for American Airlines as a member of the alliance is that it has considerably larger access to the global market.
Concerning airline hubs, it is essential to know that American Airlines has set up its hubs—stations that process a significant load of passengers and flight connections—across the United States. Some of the major hubs that various airlines operate from include Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Chicago’s O’Hare airport, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, among others, catering to thousands of passengers daily. These hubs are where passengers connect through an extensive route system operated by American Airlines. The situation where they have to compete with American Airlines in these hub cities is unenviable for other regional airlines.
Therefore, in regards to the number of planes in its fleet, the number of passengers it carries, the number of destinations it operates in, its revenues, profits, and the number of employees, American Airlines currently ranks among the biggest airlines globally. It does not have the largest absolute value of every parameter, yet it works with numbers, which can be compared only to the largest international mega-carriers. Starting as an aircraft delivery company in the 1930s, it has evolved into a giant airline after mergers, acquisitions, and expansions, as well as the control of most key US airline hubs. Without a doubt, American Airlines can be rightfully placed among the list of the world’s largest airlines if measured over a period of nine decades. American Airlines has been through some tough times and faces continued economic strife, but it is still big enough and poised well enough to be a titan of the airline industry well into the future.
Book your American Airlines ticket now and experience comfort and reliability. Call +1 833-902-2090 to speak with our travel experts.