Market Data 
Europeans will mostly fly within Europe this summer. The exception is one U.S. city that earned its place in the top ten European routes, despite higher air fares. It is also the only long-haul destination in the world to reach the top ten. The appeal of New York City remains strong with flights between New York and London Heathrow coming in fifth place overall among the busiest destinations to, from and within Europe. It accounts for 1.23 million seats, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG.
The Top 10 Busiest Routes In Europe
OAG reports the top ten busiest routes in Europe this summer, between March 30 and October 25, based on scheduled airline capacity are:
- Rome Fiumicino – Madrid Barajas with 1.3 million seats
- Lisbon Humberto Delgado – Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas with 1.29 million seats
- Copenhagen Kastrup Apt – Oslo Gardermoen with 1.27 million seats
- Duesseldorf – Palma de Mallorca with 1.26 million seats
- New York JFK – London Heathrow with 1.23 million seats
- Dublin – London Heathrow with 1.22 million seats
- Amsterdam Schiphol – Barcelona-El Prat with 1.21 million seats
- Barcelona-El Prat – Rome Fiumicino with 1.19 million seats
- Ercan – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen with 1.18 million seats
- Stockholm Arlanda – Copenhagen Kastrup with 1.17 million seats
Airfares Have Mostly Increased On Europe’s Top Routes Compared To Last Summer
Average economy airfares have increased on most of the top 10 routes, including New York-London. However, flights to New York have only gone up by 3.9%, the lowest overall increase this summer. The average economy airfare between New York and London is $240 compared to $231 dollars last year.
For U.S. visitors hoping to explore more of Europe this summer, three of Europe’s top ten routes saw airfares decrease this year:
- Copenhagen – Oslo is 9.3% cheaper, with an average economy airfare of $49
- Rome Fiumicino – Madrid Barajas has 10% lower average economy airfares at $27
- Dusseldorf – Palma de Mallorca has seen the biggest decrease among the top ten routes this summer at 25% with average economy airfares of $51
The Next 6 Busiest Routes Between Europe And The U.S.
According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, six other U.S. cities will see significant traffic to and from Europe this summer.
- London Heathrow – Los Angeles has over 780,000 seats scheduled capacity
- Paris Charles de Gaulle – New York JFK has over 770,000 seats scheduled
- London Heathrow – Chicago has over 540,000 seats scheduled
- Rome Da Vinci – New York JFK has over 520,000 seats scheduled
- London Heathrow – Boston and London Heathrow – San Francisco each have over 490,000 seats scheduled
The Top Airlines Operating Flights Between Europe And The U.S.
Cirium data shows that overall, 263,000 flights will take place between Europe and the U.S. this summer, with capacity of 70,658,814 seats. The top three airlines operating flights between Europe and the U.S. this summer are U.S. carriers, controlling a significant share of all traffic.
Delta Air Lines is the top carrier in terms of capacity between the U.S. and Europe. The airline offers 40,594 flights during this period with a capacity of 10,422,414 seats.
United Airlines holds second place in terms of capacity, offering a higher number of flights (42,723) than Delta between the U.S. and Europe, but fewer (10,208,892) seats.
American Airlines is in third place with significantly lower flights (28,944) and seats (7,824,770) than the top two carriers.
American Airlines’ oneworld alliance partner British Airways has the highest capacity among European carriers between the U.S. and Europe. It offers a total of 22,193 flights and 6,449,887 seats this summer.
United Airlines’ Star Alliance partner Lufthansa offers the second highest capacity among European carriers and fifth highest capacity overall with 14,284 flights and 4,687,530 seats.
Delta Air Lines’ SkyTeam alliance partners Air France and Virgin Atlantic are each in close competition for third place among European carriers, in terms of flights and capacity. Air France has scheduled 14,284 flights between the U.S. and Europe offering 3,747,454 seats. Virgin Atlantic has scheduled 12,435 flights with 3,611,778 seats.
