Who are the 'Majors'?

[BMM389EC]

One often hears of 'the Majors'- who exactley are they? Delta, United, who else? Just interested!

[TowerDog]

A Major airline in the US is defined as such when the annual income exceeds 1 billion US Dollars.

Yes, United, Delta, American, Northwest, Fed-Ex, UPS, Airborne Express and perhaps a few others.

[TR4A]

You are mixing cargo with passenger companys.
You left out Southwest, America West and Alaska.

[TowerDog]

Some of the freight companies are listed as "Major" Airlines.

[Vsf]

TR4A,

What does cargo or pax have to do with it? A major is a major is a major; over 1 billion US dollars in receipts. Several cargo carriers are indeed majors; UPS, FedEx, and Airborne Express come to mind.

As for the original posting, a good reference comes from Air Inc., which has a skinny little guide to airlines (employment info for aspiring pilots). They charge dearly for the book, on the order of $30 last I heard, but it is well organized and might answer your questions. Such info might also be available on the WWW. Dunno.

[West Coast]

Read that ATA joined the ranks as a major as defined by the billion dollar thing.

[TR4A]

What I was tring to say is that when you you talk about Major Airlines they are normally talked about as passenger and or cargo.

According to the US DOT the list is:

PASSENGER MAJORS

Alaska Airlines, Inc.
America West Airlines, Inc.
American Airlines, Inc.
American Eagle, Inc.
American Trans Air
Continental Airlines, Inc.
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Northwest Airlines, Inc.
Southwest Airlines Co.
Trans World Airlines, Inc.
United Air Lines, Inc.
US Airways, Inc.

ALL-CARGO MAJORS
DHL Airways
Federal Express Corp.
United Parcel Service