Routesonline analyses the North American aviation industry, taking a monthly look at the top routes served and revealing the airlines that are dominating the market. We also rank the top ten airports by available seat capacity.
September 2017 update - All data provided by OAG
Top North American airline routes
San Francisco (SFO) - Los Angeles International (LAX) took the number one spot for the most available capacity during September 2017 although the total number of available seats declined by 6.2 percent on a year-by-year basis. Honolulu (HNL) - Kahului (OGG) ranked tenth in the list and experienced the biggest year-on-year percentage growth, up 15.3 percent on September 2016.
Top North American airlines
American Airlines added the most capacity in the top ten during September 2017 with an additional 439,044 seats compared with the same month a year earlier. Southwest Airlines was marginally behind after it added 436,103 seats, with its total capacity during September 2017 standing at 16,080,303.
Top North American airports
San Francisco (SFO) added the most capacity during September 2017 compared with a year earlier, with the number of departure available seats rising by 6.3 percent to 2,907,522. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson remained as the number one although Los Angeles International closed the gap on an annual basis.
The full North American aviation industry data
Top North American routes by total available two-way capacity (September 2017):
| Rank | Airport | September 2017 capacity (total available two-way seats) | September 2016 capacity (total available two-way seats) | Year-on-year change (%) |
| 1 | San Francisco (SFO) - Los Angeles International (LAX) | 417899 | 445757 | -6.2% |
| 2 | Vancouver International (YVR) - Toronto Lester B Pearson (YYZ) | 346137 | 325802 | 6.2% |
| 3 | New York LaGuardia (LGA) - Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) | 339892 | 319818 | 6.3% |
| 4 | Los Angeles International (LAX) - New York J F Kennedy (JFK) | 336681 | 326230 | 3.2% |
| 5 | New York J F Kennedy (JFK) - London Heathrow (LHR) | 310066 | 329028 | -5.7% |
| 6 | Los Angeles International (LAX) - Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS) | 276203 | 280473 | -1.5% |
| 7 | Toronto Lester B Pearson (YYZ) - Montreal (YUL) | 271418 | 278243 | -2.5% |
| 8 | Los Angeles International (LAX) - Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) | 270881 | 275489 | -1.7% |
| 9 | Los Angeles International (LAX) - Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) | 264018 | 270406 | -2.4% |
| 10 | Honolulu (HNL) - Kahului (OGG) | 262256 | 227536 | 15.3% |
Top North American airlines by total available capacity (September 2017):
| Airline |
Total available seats (September 2017) |
Total available seats (September 2016) |
Year-on-year change (%) |
| American Airlines (AA) | 20258647 | 19819603 | 2.2% |
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 18441491 | 18206698 | 1.3% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 16080303 | 15644200 | 2.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 14928847 | 14500761 | 3.0% |
| Air Canada (AC) | 5333677 | 5041472 | 5.8% |
| JetBlue Airways (B6) | 3904511 | 3541143 | 10.3% |
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 3674893 | 3431224 | 7.1% |
| Spirit Airlines (NK) | 2489599 | 2099969 | 18.6% |
| Westjet (WS) | 2458208 | 2308571 | 6.5% |
| Frontier Airlines (F9) | 1644590 | 1564790 | 5.1% |
Top North American airports by total available departure seats (September 2017):
| Airport | Total available departure seats (September 2017) | Total available departure seats (September 2016) | Year-on-year change (%) |
| Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson | 4917280 | 4961955 | -0.9% |
| Los Angeles International | 4120412 | 4018852 | 2.5% |
| Chicago O'Hare International | 4099486 | 3971366 | 3.2% |
| Dallas Dallas/Fort Worth | 3246168 | 3186903 | 1.9% |
| New York J F Kennedy | 3092063 | 3005035 | 2.9% |
| Denver | 2940256 | 2926977 | 0.5% |
| San Francisco | 2907522 | 2733953 | 6.3% |
| Toronto Lester B Pearson | 2467445 | 2354378 | 4.8% |
| Las Vegas McCarran | 2356667 | 2319784 | 1.6% |
| Seattle-Tacoma | 2315382 | 2247579 | 3.0 |
Routes Americas 2018
The route development forum for the Americas
Routes Americas is your opportunity to meet with senior decision makers from the region’s airlines to discuss new market opportunities and the evolution of existing services. The 11th Routes Americas will take place in Quito, Ecuador on 13 - 15 February 2018.