In a year where the skies buzzed with renewed momentum, two workhorses of global aviation led the charge.
According to the International Air Transport Association’s newly released World Air Transport Statistics 2024, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 emerged as the most flown aircraft worldwide.
Most-Flown Aircraft Types
To begin with, the Boeing 737 family led the world’s aircraft activity.
Airlines operated these aircraft on 10 million flights, generating 2.4 trillion Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs).
Following closely, the Airbus A320 completed 7.9 million flights with 1.7 trillion ASKs.
Meanwhile, the Airbus A321 flew 3.4 million times, accounting for 1.1 trillion ASKs.
Global Aviation Metrics
Each year, IATA compiles the WATS report to offer insights into scheduled passenger and cargo operations.
The organisation tracks and analyses capacity, demand, global fleet trends, and the most heavily travelled airport routes.
In addition, WATS explores financial indicators such as operating costs, revenue, aircraft utilisation, and workforce size.
Premium Travel Growth
Significantly, 2024 saw international premium-class travel rise more sharply than economy.
Business and first-class passengers increased by 11.8%, slightly surpassing the 11.5% growth in economy travel.
Altogether, 116.9 million passengers opted for premium seats, which represented 6% of total international air travel.
Regionally, Asia Pacific posted the highest percentage growth in premium travel.
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Airlines in the region carried 21 million premium passengers—a 22.8% increase from the previous year.
However, economy travel in the region grew even faster, surging by 28.6% to reach 500.8 million passengers.
Conversely, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America experienced stronger growth in premium travel than in economy.
In terms of volume, Europe remained the largest international premium travel market with 39.3 million passengers.
The Middle East, on the other hand, recorded the highest proportion of premium travellers—14.7% of all international passengers in the region.
Busiest Global Routes
Turning to air routes, Asia Pacific dominated the global rankings.
The Jeju–Seoul (CJU–GMP) route in South Korea emerged as the world’s busiest, serving 13.2 million passengers.
In fact, nine of the top ten airport pairs belonged to the Asia Pacific region.
The only exception was Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah–Riyadh (JED–RUH) route.
Elsewhere, regional leaders stood out.
Airlines carried 3.8 million passengers between Bogota and Medellin (BOG–MDE), making it Latin America’s busiest route.
In Africa, the Cape Town–Johannesburg (JNB–CPT) corridor attracted 3.3 million travellers.
Meanwhile, the New York JFK–Los Angeles (JFK–LAX) route topped North America with 2.2 million passengers.
In Europe, the most travelled route linked Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca (BCN–PMI), with 2 million passengers.
Conclusion
Overall, IATA’s 2024 report shows that the aviation industry not only sustained its recovery but also built momentum.
Airlines relied heavily on proven aircraft types, expanded capacity, and responded to increasing passenger demand across all classes and regions.
