Data has revealed that out of the top 10 busiest country pairs by seats, the US is the destination or origin point for three of the pairs, including the world’s leading market between the US
and Mexico.
Flying between the US and Mexico
Statistics provided by the data travel company OAG showed that airlines have scheduled 4.8 million seats between Mexico and the US, the busiest air corridor by a large margin in December.
In comparison, the second-busiest corridor is between the UK and Spain, with more than 3.3 million seats scheduled on routes connecting the two countries, with many Britons looking to escape the world’s infamous British weather.
Nevertheless, 13 airlines are marketing flights between the US and Mexico in December, including the less-than-ten weekly flights per week from Aero (a US-based Part 135 airline) and Avelo Airlines
, data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed.
Photo: Renata Ty | Shutterstock
The airline with the largest schedule is 
American Airlines
, which has scheduled 708 weekly flights between the two countries, with the second being 
United Airlines
, with 553 weekly flights. While Mexico-based Volaris
is third with 411 weekly itineraries, the combined 
Aeromexico
and 
Delta Air Lines
joint venture weekly schedule, with 583 flights per week, would put the two airlines in second place.
Nevertheless, the third-busiest corridor is between Canada and the US. Airlines have scheduled 3.1 million seats during the last month of the year, with one fewer carrier (12) than on the Mexico-US routes.
Surprisingly, 
Air Canada
is the largest carrier on flights from Canada to the US, with the airline scheduling 1,179 weekly flights on routes between the two countries.
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Crossing the Atlantic
Apart from the three aforementioned country pairs, the other route pairs include Japan to South Korea (2.57 million), India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE, 2.2 million), Germany to Spain (2.09 million), China to Japan (1.99 million), the United Kingdom to the US (1.87 million), Italy to Spain (1.84 million), and China to Thailand (1.6 million) rounding off the top ten.
The UK-to-US country pair could be considered the only intercontinental route, not only in the top ten but also in the top 20 list, with other entries connecting close neighbors.
Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock
Cirium data showed that there are 813 weekly flights between the UK and the US, with 
British Airways
and Virgin Atlantic
leading the pack with 288 and 136 weekly itineraries, respectively. Other airlines operating flights across the Atlantic include American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue
, Norse Atlantic
, 
Aer Lingus
, and 
Singapore Airlines
.
While it might be surprising to find Singapore Airlines flying across the Atlantic Ocean without the origin point being Singapore Changi Airport
(SIN), its hub, the carrier has a fifth-freedom flight from Singapore to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
(IAH) via Manchester Airport
(MAN).
However, the carrier will end the one-stop itinerary starting in April 2025, a route that it has served since November 2016, when it switched the stop between Singapore and Houston from Moscow Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov Airport (DME) to Manchester.
Related
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The airline has been operating the route since November 2016.
Asian and European country pairs
Going beyond the top ten, the 11th-busiest country is Taiwan to Japan, with 1.5 million seats, followed by another intra-Asian route from China to South Korea, with 1.49 million seats in December.
Puerto Rico to the US is the only non-Asian or non-European country pair (even though it is a domestic connection) in the bottom half of the list, followed by two Germany-originating country pairs to Turkey (1.39 million) and the UK (1.34 million).
Photo: RaksyBH | Shutterstock
The following two country pairs touch upon Saudi Arabia: from the country to the UAE (1.31 million) and from Egypt to Saudi Arabia (1.28 million). Two European country pairs, namely France to Spain (1.27 million) and Italy to the UK (1.23 million), are separated by China to Hong Kong (1.25 million), with connections between Italy and the UK rounding off the top 20 list of country pairs in December.
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