Which Airline Carried The Most Passengers Between The US & London In The 1st 9 Months Of 2024?

The international market between London and the United States is extremely busy, with more than one million passengers traveling monthly. According to data from the Department of Transportation (DOT), nine airlines operated flights from London to the US in 2024 (including diversions):
Data from Cirium shows that nearly 14.5 million people flew between London and the US from January to September. About 18.1 million seats were available, meaning 79.72% were filled. British Airways carried more passengers than any other airline.
American Airlines
American Airlines transported 2,754,755 passengers between London and the US from January to September. The airline’s busiest month in terms of load factor was June, when it filled 87.99% of its seats. The lowest load factor was in February, with 55.56% of seats filled.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Cirium shows that American operated the following routes this year:
London (Heathrow) – Charlotte London (Heathrow) – Miami London (Heathrow) – Phoenix London (Heathrow) – Philadelphia London (Heathrow) – Dallas/Fort Worth London (Heathrow) – Chicago O’Hare London (Heathrow) – Boston London (Heathrow) – Los Angeles London (Heathrow) – New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) – Raleigh/Durham
Of the ten regularly scheduled routes, Charlotte had the best overall load factor throughout the year, with 83.84% of seats filled. The lowest overall load factor was to Raleigh, with 69.91%.
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 1,172 213,011 331,956 64.59% February 957 151,117 270,945 55.56% March 1,309 279,460 371,410 75.64% April 1,494 304,530 425,453 71.66% May 1,539 347,015 438,601 79.16% June 1,491 375,990 427,937 87.99% July 1,545 381,936 443,665 86.36% August 1,507 369,854 433,483 85.05% September 1,490 331,842 422,546 78.85%
JetBlue
JetBlue started flying to London in August 2021, when it launched a route between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York and Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London. Since then, the airline has expanded its operations and flies to Heathrow and London Gatwick Airport (LGW). According to Cirium, JetBlue transported 281,053 passengers to and from London in the first nine months of the year.
Photo: Coby Wayne | Shutterstock
As with American Airlines, the best load factor for the airline was in June, with 86.72% of seats filled. The lowest load factor was in February, when only 59.27% of seats were filled. JetBlue had four regularly scheduled routes:
JFK – London (Heathrow) JFK – London Gatwick Boston – London (Heathrow) Boston – London (Heathrow)
All four routes had similar load factors, but the strongest was from Boston to Heathrow, at 76.35%. The lowest average load factor was from JFK to Heathrow, with 73.46% of seats filled.
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 253 23,810 35,090 67.79% February 259 21,625 36,512 59.27% March 309 29,444 44,622 66.04% April 300 30,027 43,446 69.16% May 310 33,322 44,056 75.69% June 299 36,343 41,900 86.72% July 307 35,180 43,312 81.18% August 304 37,574 44,130 85.09% September 298 33,728 43,490 77.69%
British Airways
British Airways is the airline that carried the most passengers between London and the US in the first nine months of 2024. According to Cirium, 5,766,590 passengers flew on British Airways. From January to September, the airline had 6,750,553 seats available, which means 85.31% of seats were filled.
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The airline operated 28 routes during that time, all of which are listed below:
London (Heathrow) – New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) – Newark London (Heathrow) – Los Angeles London (Heathrow) – Miami London (Heathrow) – Boston London (Heathrow) – Chicago London (Heathrow) – San Francisco London (Heathrow) – Houston London (Heathrow) – Washington (Dulles) London (Heathrow) – Seattle London (Heathrow) – Las Vegas London (Heathrow) – Phoenix London (Heathrow) – San Diego London (Heathrow) – Philadelphia London (Heathrow) – Atlanta London (Heathrow) – Dallas/Fort Worth London (Heathrow) – Denver London (Heathrow) – Austin London (Heathrow) – Baltimore London (Heathrow) – Nashville London (Heathrow) – Cincinnatti London (Heathrow) – Pittsburgh London (Heathrow) – Portland London (Heathrow) – New Orleans London Gatwick – New York (JFK) London Gatwick – Las Vegas London Gatwick – Orlando London Gatwick – Tampa
Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 2,226 487,209 637,908 76.50% February 2,166 451,724 625,957 71.93% March 2,530 609,593 728,184 83.88% April 2,603 624,580 744,905 83.70% May 2,858 731,333 828,660 88.10% June 2,733 722,271 792,693 91.00% July 2,825 725,052 820,920 88.16% August 2,702 709,348 787,543 89.69% September 2,704 705,480 783,783 90.03%
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, flew just over one million passengers in the first nine months of 2024. The airline had its best load factor in August, when 89.98% of its seats were filled on all routes. February was the lowest point, when Delta only filled 49.92% of seats.
Photo: OLOS | Shutterstock
The best-performing route was from JFK to Gatwick, which had an 85.62% average load factor. The route from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Heathrow, which Delta cut in May, was the worst-performing route, with a 48.62% load factor. All of Delta’s London routes are listed below:
London (Heathrow) – Atlanta London (Heathrow) – New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) – Detroit London (Heathrow) – Minneapolis London (Heathrow) – Boston London (Heathrow) – Seattle London (Heathrow) – Salt Lake City London (Heathrow) – Los Angeles London (Gatwick) – JFK
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 603 87,892 145,943 59.95% February 539 66,577 130,723 49.92% March 629 109,439 151,205 71.67% April 622 114,451 153,398 74.00% May 662 133,368 160,387 82.71% June 633 132,992 150,187 88.72% July 652 138,085 154,022 89.84% August 652 138,901 154,452 89.98% September 642 126,889 154,073 82.62%
United Airlines
United Airlines had the second-highest number of passengers flown between London and the US in the first nine months of 2024. Cirium shows the airline transported just over 1.7 million passengers and filled 75.05% of its seats during that time. United’s best load factor was in July, when 88.65% of seats were filled. The worst-performing month was February, when only 56.45% of seats were filled.
Photo: Lukas Souza | United Airlines
United operated the following routes:
London (Heathrow) – Newark London (Heathrow) – Chicago London (Heathrow) – San Francisco London (Heathrow) – Houston London (Heathrow) – Washington (Dulles) London (Heathrow) – Denver London (Heathrow) – Los Angeles
United had the best load factor from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), filling 82.87% of seats. Los Angeles was the worst-performing route, with 63.12% of seats filled.
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 958 137,874 209,037 65.58% February 883 111,383 192,595 56.45% March 1,019 170,119 224,977 75.13% April 1,182 174,398 263,190 64.44% May 1.221 203,264 273,696 72.64% June 1,189 236,033 269,507 87.06% July 1.220 246,049 276,888 88.65% August 1.218 226,465 276,788 80.73% September 1.192 206,130 266,675 76.28%
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic carried more than 2.4 million passengers in the year’s first nine months. During that time, the airline had 3,162,069 seats available, so 76.50% were filled. The best month for Virgin was July, when 85.10% of seats were filled. In February, only 60.50% were filled.
Photo: Rene Dominguez | Shutterstock
Virgin operated the following routes:
London (Heathrow) – New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) – Los Angeles London (Heathrow) – Miami London (Heathrow) – Orlando London (Heathrow) – San Francisco London (Heathrow) – Boston London (Heathrow) – Atlanta London (Heathrow) – Las Vegas London (Heathrow) – Tampa London (Heathrow) – Seattle London (Heathrow) – Washington (Dulles) London (Heathrow) – Austin
Virgin’s best load factor was to Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida. Data shows that through September, Virgin filled 84.39% of its seats and 255,502 passengers were transported. The lowest-performing route was to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). This route only had seven flights in January, and Virgin only filled 61.18% of its seats.
Month Departures Passengers Flown Seats Available Load Factor January 1,040 189,366 297,728 64.40% February 960 164,717 275,678 60.50% March 1,095 222,555 312,939 72.02% April 1,220 256,399 351,325 73.47% May 1,343 301,655 387,491 78.16% June 1,339 317,726 384,004 83.05% July 1,354 327,882 387,408 85.10% August 1,382 336,569 397,012 84.77% September 1,284 285,820 368,484 78.39%
Norse Atlantic
During the year’s first nine months, Norse Atlantic flew 472,985 passengers between London and the US. The load factor during this period was 74.06%. Norse’s busiest month was in August, when 81.65% of seats were filled. The airline struggled in January, filling just 55.12% of its seats.
Photo: Norse Atlantic
Norse operated the following routes:
London Gatwick – New York (JFK) London Gatwick – Orlando London Gatwick – Miami London Gatwick – Los Angeles London Gatwick – Las Vegas