1.Delta Airlines
When Delta Airlines Was Founded:
Founded in 1928, and first known as Delta Air Service, Delta originally served Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.
Headquarters / Main Hub:
The main hub and headquarters of Delta Airlines is in Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
2.United Airlines
Founding Year:
1926 was the year that Varney's commercial air mail service began, which was a predecessor to United Airlines. In 1931 the name United Airlines was established.
Headquarters / Main Hub:
Chicago holds the headquarters for United, with its main hub being Chicago O'Hare (ORD), and major hubs in San Francisco, Denver and Washington.
3.Southwest Airlines
Year Founded:
Southwest Airlines was founded in 1971 in Dallas, Texas
Headquarters / Main Hub:
Southwest is based in Dallas, Texas. Its main hub is Dallas Love Field Airport, as well as hubs in Las Vegas and Chicago.
4.American Airlines
Year Founded:
Founded in 1930 as American Airways, American first flew routes from Dallas to Boston, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
Headquarters / Main Hub of American Airlines:
Dallas, Texas is headquarters to American Airlines, and its main hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with other major hubs in Chicago and Miami.
5.US Airways
Founding Year:
In 1939, the predecessor of US Airways was established. All American Aviation Company served Ohio, and the name change to US Air came in 1979, with US Airways being the most recent name change in 1996. US Airways merged with America West in 2005.
Headquarters and Main Hub:
Currently, US Airways is headquarted in Arizona, with its main hubs being Charlotte, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Philadelphia.
6.Air Canada
Founding Year:
Founded in 1937, Air Canada was originally known as TCA - Trans Canada Airlines. Although it has been a private company since the 1980s, it was previously owned by the government as a crown corporation.
Headquarters and Main Hub:
Air Canada has its headquarters in Montreal. Its main hub is Lester Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Its other major hubs are in Montreal and Vancouver.
7.AirTran Airways
A number of low cost airlines have sprung up in North America as an alternative to mainstream, long-established airlines. As services decrease on the traditional, scheduled carriers, these low cost options seem even more attractive.
Southwest Airlines
This is the low cost airline that other airlines - both legacy carriers and other low cost airlines - often try to emulate. Southwest Airlines is not just known for great fares, but for customer service.
8.Skywest Airlines
Founding Year:
Skywest was founded in 1972.
Headquarters and Main Hub:
Skywest is based in Utah, and its main hubs are the ones for Delta, United and Midwest.
9.JetBlue
JetBlue is known as a low cost airline with a high level of customer service. With its main hub in New York, JetBlue serves the United States and much of the Caribbean. JetBlue may currently hold the 9th position, using data dating to the end of 2010, but with the merger of AirTran and Southwest Airlines, it should move up the passenger number rank soon.
10.ExpressJet
ExpressWho? ExpressJet is the surprising tenth entry on the list of biggest airlines in North America based on passenger numbers. If there is any doubt that regional airlines rule some altitudes of the North American skies, well this list shows how dominant regional carriers are.
