The world's top passenger airlines

Southwest was the world's top airline in 2008, with 102 million passengers flown.

6. Ryanair
Passengers carried in 2008: 57.65 million
Domestic/international passenger split: 100% international
Financials: Ryanair reported a Q1 2009 (April-June) net profit of EUR 136.5 million (US $193.3 million), a 550% increase over last year’s Q1 figure. The airline attributed the rise to a large drop in unit costs caused by lower fuel prices and reductions in staff, airport and handling costs. Passenger numbers also rose year on year in the quarter, from 15.0 to 16.6 million.   

7. US Airways
Passengers carried in 2008: 54.78 million
Domestic/international passenger split: 89.8% domestic; 10.2% international
Financials: Excluding special items, the airline reported a net loss of $95 million for the second quarter of 2009 (April-June).

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8. Lufthansa
Passengers carried in 2008: 54.70 million
Domestic/international passenger split: 23% domestic; 77% international
Financials: The carrier reported a net loss of EUR 216 million (US $306 million) for the first half of 2009 (Jan-June). Revenue fell 15.2% year on year.

9. Air France
Passengers carried in 2008: 50.45 million
Domestic/international passenger split: 35.6% domestic; 64.4% international
Financials: Revenues in the passenger business fell by 18.7% to EUR 4.01 billion in the first quarter of 2009 (April-June) — on the back of a 5.8% drop in traffic.

10. Northwest Airlines
Passengers carried in 2008: 49.67 million
Domestic/international passenger split: 78.3% domestic; 21.7% international
Financials: Northwest Airlines has now merged with Delta Airlines, which reported a net loss for the April-June 2009 quarter of US $257 million.