Business
Flying High: The Top Ten Airline Routes by Revenue
Flying High: The Top 10 Airline Routes by Revenue
The airline industry is a tough business. Profit margins are narrow, airplanes are expensive to run and maintain, and government regulation and taxation can be onerous and unpredictable.
In addition, demand can stall by the outbreak of disease, recession, war, or terrorism. So when a company has a winning airline route, it makes all the difference to a company’s bottom line.
Today’s visualization uses data from OAG Aviation Worldwide, which tracked the airline routes that generated the most revenue from April 2018 to March 2019.
Top 10 Highest Revenue Routes by Airline
North American routes dominate the global rankings. However, it is the connections from the U.S Northeast and Europe that generate the most revenue and often the most delays.
Only one route breaks the billion dollar barrier: British Airways’ service between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK).
Airline | Airport Pair | Countries | Total Revenue US$ 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|
British Airways | JFK-LHR | 🇺🇸🇬🇧 | $1,159,126,794 |
Qantas Airlines | MEL-SYD | 🇦🇺 | $849,260,322 |
Emirates | LHR-DXB | 🇬🇧🇦🇪 | $796,201,645 |
Singapore Airlines | LHR-SIN | 🇬🇧🇸🇬 | $735,597,614 |
United Airlines | SFO-EWR | 🇺🇸 | $689,371,368 |
American Airlines | LAX-JFK | 🇺🇸 | $661,739,368 |
Qatar Airways | LHR-DOH | 🇬🇧🇶🇦 | $639,122,609 |
Cathay Pacific Airways | HKG-LHR | 🇭🇰🇬🇧 | $604,595,063 |
Singapore Airlines | SYD-SIN | 🇦🇺🇸🇬 | $549,711,946 |
Air Canada | YVR-YYZ | 🇨🇦 | $541,122,509 |
Air Canada’s route between Vancouver and Toronto bottoms out the list with $541 million of revenue in 2019. Low population density, high infrastructure costs, and an aviation industry that is essentially an oligopoly, are all factors driving up ticket costs in Canada.
North America, Top 10 Highest Revenue Routes by Airline
Here’s a look at only the top-grossing routes connected to North America, including the prior ones that made the global list.
Airline | Airport Pair | Countries | Total Revenue US$ 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|
British Airways | JFK-LHR | 🇺🇸🇬🇧 | $1,159,126,794 |
United Airlines | SFO-EWR | 🇺🇸 | $689,371,368 |
American Airlines | LAX-JFK | 🇺🇸 | $661,739,788 |
Air Canada | YVR-YYZ | 🇨🇦 | $541,122,509 |
British Airways | BOS-LHR | 🇺🇸🇬🇧 | $523,527,241 |
Air France | JFK-CDG | 🇺🇸🇫🇷 | $486,378,698 |
United Airlines | LAX-EWR | 🇺🇸 | $479,908,312 |
Cathay Pacific Airways | JFK-HKG | 🇺🇸🇭🇰 | $475,514,451 |
Delta Air Lines | LAX-JFK | 🇺🇸 | $465,130,366 |
British Airways | LAX-LHR | 🇺🇸🇬🇧 | $452,136,502 |
Transcontinental routes dominate the domestic market with LAX–JFK appearing twice in the ranking for both American and Delta Air Lines.
Asia, Top 10 Highest Revenue Routes by Airline
Despite Asia’s rise as an economic superpower, there are no routes that break the billion dollar barrier. Singapore Airlines’ Singapore (SIN) to London’s Heathrow (LHR) tops the list, generating $736 million in 2019.
Airline | Airport Pair | Countries | Total Revenue US$ 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|
Singapore Airlines | SIN-LHR | 🇸🇬🇬🇧 | $735,597,614 |
Cathay Pacific Airlines | HKG-LHR | 🇭🇰🇬🇧 | $604,595,063 |
Singapore Airlines | SIN-SYD | 🇸🇬🇦🇺 | $549,711,946 |
Vietnam Airlines | SGN-HAN | 🇻🇳 | $488,487,259 |
Cathay Pacific Airlines | HKG-JFK | 🇭🇰🇺🇸 | $475,514,451 |
Japan Airlines | OKA-HND | 🇯🇵 | $447,224,346 |
Singapore Airlines | CGK-SIN | 🇮🇩🇸🇬 | $436,905,694 |
Japan Airlines | FUK-HND | 🇯🇵 | $431,457,469 |
Singapore Airlines | SIN-MEL | 🇸🇬🇦🇺 | $414,276,407 |
Cathay Pacific Airlines | HKG-SIN | 🇭🇰🇸🇬 | $389,910,239 |
The routes that dominate Asia connect the financial hubs of London, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong. There are also two domestic routes in Japan, connecting both Fukuoka (FUK) and Okinawa (OKA) to Tokyo’s Haneda (HND) airport.
Africa, Top 10 Highest Revenue Routes by Airline
At the top of the ranking in Africa is Johannesburg (JNB) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) with revenues of $315 million. Dubai has become an important hub for high value flights arriving and departing Africa, a position that may prove profitable as air traffic on the continent increases in coming years.
Airline | Airport Pair | Countries | Total Revenue US$ 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|
Emirates | JNB-DXB | 🇿🇦🇦🇪 | $315,678,326 |
British Airways | JNB-LHR | 🇿🇦🇬🇧 | $295,167,492 |
Saudi Arabian Airlines | CAI-JED | 🇪🇬🇸🇦 | $242,155,949 |
TAAG Angola Airlines | LAD-LIS | 🇦🇴🇵🇹 | $231,155,949 |
South African Airlines | JNB-CPT | 🇿🇦 | $184,944,128 |
Emirates | CAI-DXB | 🇪🇬🇦🇪 | $181,392,011 |
Emirates | CPT-DXB | 🇿🇦🇦🇪 | $176,743,498 |
Air France | ABJ-CDG | 🇨🇮🇫🇷 | $174,986,272 |
British Airways | CPT-LHR | 🇿🇦🇬🇧 | $174,605,201 |
Emirates | MRU-DXB | 🇲🇺🇦🇪 | $163,952,609 |
Despite the smaller earnings compared to larger markets, some airline companies see the potential for growth in Africa. Virgin Atlantic will fly a route between London’s Heathrow and Cape Town in South Africa, while Qatar Airlines acquired a stake in RwandAir.
Financial Hubs
The cities that appear in the top revenue ranking are revealing. Since business and first class travelers are such an important revenue driver, it makes sense that connections between the world’s financial hubs are delivering big value to airlines.
As Asian and African economies continue to evolve, what route could be the next billion dollar route for airlines?
United States
Charted: U.S. Median House Prices vs. Income
We chart the ever-widening gap between median incomes and the median price of houses in America, using data from the Federal Reserve from 1984 to 2022.
Houses in America Now Cost Six Times the Median Income
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
As of 2023, an American household hoping to buy a median-priced home, needs to make at least $100,000 a year. In some cities, they need to make nearly 3–4x that amount.
The median household income in the country is currently well below that $100,000 threshold. To look at the trends between median incomes and median house prices through the years, we charted their movement using the following datasets data from the Federal Reserve:
- Median household income (1984–2022).
- Median Sales Price of Houses Sold (1963–2023).
Importantly this graphic does not make allowances for actual household disposable income, nor how monthly mortgage payments change depending on the interest rates at the time. Finally, both datasets are in current U.S. dollars, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation.
Timeline: Median House Prices vs. Income in America
In 1984, the median annual income for an American household stood at $22,420, and the median house sales price for the first quarter of the year came in at $78,200. The house sales price-to-income ratio stood at 3.49.
By pure arithmetic, this is the most affordable houses have been in the U.S. since the Federal Reserve began tracking this data, as seen in the table below.
A hidden caveat of course, was inflation: running rampant towards the end of the 70s and the start of the 80s. While it fell significantly in the next five years, in 1984 the 30-year fixed rate was close to 14%, meaning a significant chunk of household income went to interest payments.
Date | Median House Sales Price | Median Household Income | Price-to-Income Ratio |
---|---|---|---|
1984-01-01 | $78,200 | $22,420 | 3.49 |
1985-01-01 | $82,800 | $23,620 | 3.51 |
1986-01-01 | $88,000 | $24,900 | 3.53 |
1987-01-01 | $97,900 | $26,060 | 3.76 |
1988-01-01 | $110,000 | $27,230 | 4.04 |
1989-01-01 | $118,000 | $28,910 | 4.08 |
1990-01-01 | $123,900 | $29,940 | 4.14 |
1991-01-01 | $120,000 | $30,130 | 3.98 |
1992-01-01 | $119,500 | $30,640 | 3.90 |
1993-01-01 | $125,000 | $31,240 | 4.00 |
1994-01-01 | $130,000 | $32,260 | 4.03 |
1995-01-01 | $130,000 | $34,080 | 3.81 |
1996-01-01 | $137,000 | $35,490 | 3.86 |
1997-01-01 | $145,000 | $37,010 | 3.92 |
1998-01-01 | $152,200 | $38,890 | 3.91 |
1999-01-01 | $157,400 | $40,700 | 3.87 |
2000-01-01 | $165,300 | $41,990 | 3.94 |
2001-01-01 | $169,800 | $42,230 | 4.02 |
2002-01-01 | $188,700 | $42,410 | 4.45 |
2003-01-01 | $186,000 | $43,320 | 4.29 |
2004-01-01 | $212,700 | $44,330 | 4.80 |
2005-01-01 | $232,500 | $46,330 | 5.02 |
2006-01-01 | $247,700 | $48,200 | 5.14 |
2007-01-01 | $257,400 | $50,230 | 5.12 |
2008-01-01 | $233,900 | $50,300 | 4.65 |
2009-01-01 | $208,400 | $49,780 | 4.19 |
2010-01-01 | $222,900 | $49,280 | 4.52 |
2011-01-01 | $226,900 | $50,050 | 4.53 |
2012-01-01 | $238,400 | $51,020 | 4.67 |
2013-01-01 | $258,400 | $53,590 | 4.82 |
2014-01-01 | $275,200 | $53,660 | 5.13 |
2015-01-01 | $289,200 | $56,520 | 5.12 |
2016-01-01 | $299,800 | $59,040 | 5.08 |
2017-01-01 | $313,100 | $61,140 | 5.12 |
2018-01-01 | $331,800 | $63,180 | 5.25 |
2019-01-01 | $313,000 | $68,700 | 4.56 |
2020-01-01 | $329,000 | $68,010 | 4.84 |
2021-01-01 | $369,800 | $70,780 | 5.22 |
2022-01-01 | $433,100 | $74,580 | 5.81 |
Note: The median house sale price listed in this table and in the chart is from the first quarter of each year. As a result the ratio can vary between quarters of each year.
The mid-2000s witnessed an explosive surge in home prices, eventually culminating in a housing bubble and subsequent crash—an influential factor in the 2008 recession. Subprime mortgages played a pivotal role in this scenario, as they were issued to buyers with poor credit and then bundled into seemingly more attractive securities for financial institutions. However, these loans eventually faltered as economic circumstances changed.
In response to the recession and to stimulate economic demand, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates, consequently lowering mortgage rates.
While this measure aimed to make homeownership more accessible, it also contributed to a significant increase in housing prices in the following years. Additionally, a new generation entering the home-buying market heightened demand. Simultaneously, a scarcity of new construction and a surge in investors and corporations converting housing units into rental properties led to a shortage in supply, exerting upward pressure on prices.
As a result, median house prices are now nearly 6x the median household income in America.
How Does Unaffordable Housing Affect the U.S. Economy?
When housing costs exceed a significant portion of household income, families are forced to cut back on other essential expenditures, dampening consumer spending. Given how expanding housing supply helped drive U.S. economic growth in the 20th century, the current constraints in the country are especially ironic.
Unaffordable housing also stifles mobility, as individuals may be reluctant to relocate for better job opportunities due to housing constraints. On the flip side, many cities are seeing severe labor shortages as many lower-wage workers simply cannot afford to live in the city. Both phenomena affect market efficiency and productivity growth.
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