Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the only airport in the US that operates as a hub for all three main legacy airlines and many additional carriers, earning it the nickname “hub of hubs” among airline industry observers.
The airport serves destinations all over the world and is home to key hubs for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines.
The facility is located in Westchester, approximately 18 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, and is the largest international airport in both the Los Angeles metropolitan region and the entire state of California. The facility is located in a commercial and residential area, accessible via highways.
In 2023, the airport served over 75 million people, and traffic continues to increase. With four enormous runways and easy access for business travelers to Los Angeles’ central business district, the facility is one of the most essential for US airlines and is expected to produce more money for carriers than any other hub.
Los Angeles International Airport
While financial data on the amount of money made by airlines specifically through serving traffic to and from LAX is kept confidential, it is no secret that airlines will compete fiercely to ensure that they receive as large a share of the profits as possible from operating flights to Los Angeles.
In this essay, we will look in depth at the five major carriers by market share at LAX and determine which carriers are leading the race to control the market at this desired facility.
1. Delta Air Line
The Atlanta-based carrier is quickly edging ahead its competitors to become the largest airline at LAX.
| Category: | Delta Air Lines LAX Statistic: |
|---|---|
| Annual passenger capacity: | 14.8 million |
| Market share: | 19.76% |
While Delta Air Lines is best known for its fortress hubs at airports such as Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP), and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), it is also the largest carrier at LAX, a highly competitive hub.
The airport acts as a secondary hub for the airline on the West Coast, with Seattle primarily serving as the backbone of the carrier’s Asian operations.
The airline does, however, fly multiple transpacific flights from Los Angeles, including many popular destinations in Australia and Oceania.
These flights include those to Sydney International Airport (SYD), Auckland Airport (AKL), and Faa’a International Airport (PPT), French Polynesia’s major airport.
The airline’s bread and butter, however, are the transcontinental routes it flies from Los Angeles, which are frequently congested with premium traffic since business travelers are regularly coming from key East Coast business hubs to the LA area.
These transcontinental nonstop flights allow Delta to sell tickets in the premium cabins at even higher costs, as business customers will pay top cash for lie-flat seats on these nonstop flights.
Delta Air Lines: IATA/ICAO Code DL/DAL Airline TypeAlliance is a full-service carrier founded in 1929.SkyTeam CEO Bastian CountryThe United States
For these reasons, Delta runs a few widebody domestic flights from its West Coast hubs to locations around the Eastern shore.
Legacy airlines, such as Delta, frequently earn a significant percentage of their revenue from seats in its Delta One cabin, which often contains a mix of corporate travelers and high-spending holidaymakers.
Delta Air Lines
2. American Airlines.
The Dallas-based airline continues to expand its network from LAX.
Unlike Delta, which has a secondary Pacific hub in Seattle, and United, which has hubs at both San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM), American Airlines only has one West Coast hub.
When it comes to transpacific flights, the airport is a critical component of the airline’s sun-belt-obsessed network. Despite substantial operations at LAX, American Airlines still has a lower market share than Delta, according to airport management figures.
Despite this, American serves nine of the top ten domestic destinations from LAX, with the exception of the route to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). It does, however, fly from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and has connecting flights to Newark and LaGuardia.
The airline, like Delta, seeks to grab a significant part of premium passenger travel demand to and from Los Angeles, and it occasionally deploys widebody jets to handle trips around the country.
The airline even uses the Airbus A321T (T for transcontinental) on various flights across the country, featuring economy class seats in a 3-3 arrangement, business class seats in a 2-2 configuration, and even a first-class cabin with 1-1 seating.
American Airlines
3. United Airlines
United is close behind American in terms of market share at LAX.
| Category: | United Airlines LAX Statistic: |
|---|---|
| Annual passenger capacity: | 11.1 million |
| Market share: | 14.82% |
As previously stated, United Airlines’ activities on the West Coast are mostly focused elsewhere, despite the carrier having a significant market share and strategic footing in San Francisco.
Nonetheless, with the Los Angeles market being far too appealing to forsake, United has a substantial presence at LAX as well, albeit its operations do not compare to those of American or Delta.
According to Bureau of Transportation statistics, United Airlines serves seven of the top ten domestic routes from LAX, however it does not offer direct nonstop service to New York’s JFK, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), or Atlanta.
The airline’s international network from LAX is limited compared to competitors, with only five of the top 10 busiest routes served.
United Airlines
4. Southwest Airlines
Southwest is the largest low-cost carrier at LAX based on market share.
| Category: | Southwest Airlines LAX Statistic: |
|---|---|
| Annual passenger capacity: | 7.1 million |
| Market share: | 9.53% |
Southwest Airlines, based at LAX, currently dominates the airport’s low-cost travel market, surpassing Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
The airline faces some competitive constraints from legacy carriers that are now offering discounted basic economy tickets, forcing them to continue reinventing their LAX-based route network.
Southwest is the first carrier to announce that it will add a new US destination from LAX to its route map this year, with nonstop flights to Orlando International Airport (MCO) beginning on August 5th. Travel + Leisure reports that the airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft will serve this new cross-country route once daily.
Southwest Airlines
5. Alaska Airlines
The airline has continued to increase its presence at LAX.
| Category: | Alaska Airlines LAX Statistic: |
|---|---|
| Annual passenger capacity: | 4.8 million |
| Market share: | 6.48% |
Because of the high level of consolidation in the US aviation business, there are few US airports where the fifth-largest airline has a market share of more than 6%.
However, in LAX, this is the case. Alaska Airlines has long understood that continuing growth of its network from LAX would prove critical for its long-term financial viability.
The airline’s desire to expand at LAX was a driving force behind its 2016 acquisition of Virgin America, as it was able to secure numerous highly sought-after landing slots at the airport.
Now that the airline has merged with Hawaiian Airlines, which had a 1.29% market share at LAX in 2023 (the most recent year for which data is available), its market share increase at the facility is expected to continue.