In 2023, 118 million passengers departed from United States airports according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, most of whom flew to Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. 61 million of those passengers flew with domestic airlines, the biggest of which are the big four: American, Delta, United and Southwest. Even with usually higher legacy carrier ticket prices, these four airlines are also the most popular across income groups in the United States.
A recent Statista Consumer Insights survey shows that respondents categorized in the top 10, top 50 and bottom 50 percent of household income all chose the four biggest U.S. airlines for at least one flight in the past 12 months. The highest shares are exhibited in the top 10 percent bracket, where 47, 38, 36 and 24 percent used American, Delta, United and Southwest, respectively.
The biggest gaps can be seen with Air Canada and Emirates. For example, 17 percent of respondents who are in the top 10 percent earning households flew with Emirates in the past year, while only four percent of the bottom 50 percent earners booked a ticket with Dubai's state-owned airline.
Not pictured on the chart are Spirit Air and Frontier Airlines, two carriers associated with low prices. However, they are also popular with households with a higher income. Ten and eleven percent of the top 10 percent and top 50 percent earners, respectively, used Spirit Air in the past year.
In 2022, Frontier and Spirit sought a merger, which was terminated based on shareholder votes and reportedly influenced by JetBlue Airways, which also sought to buy Spirit, according to CNBC reporting. JetBlue didn't fare better with its acquisition plans, however: In March of 2024, merger plans were scrapped due to a Boston federal judge ruling it could potentially violate antitrust law.
