Most Active Airlines in Australia

Key Takeaways

  • 73 airlines fly scheduled routes from Australia. Together they operate 1,041 distinct outgoing routes from the country's airports
  • Qantas runs the widest network. 174 outgoing routes from Australia — about 1.0x the next airline
  • SYD is the busiest hub. Ranked by the number of outgoing routes departing each airport
  • Every airline mapped. Each of the top 12 carriers gets a map of where it flies from Australia

Which airlines are most active in Australia? Using live AirportRoutes data, we ranked every airline by the number of distinct outgoing routes it operates from Australia’s airports — each origin-to-destination pair counted once. Below, every one of the top 12 carriers gets a map of where it flies.

Bar chart of the most active airlines in Australia by outgoing routes
The 10 most active airlines in Australia, ranked by distinct outgoing routes. Data: AirportRoutes.

The Full Ranking

Full ranking

Most Active Airlines in Australia

By distinct outgoing routes operated from the country’s airports.

Airline Routes Destinations Busiest base
1. Qantas17459Main hub: SYD
2. Jetstar17239Main hub: SYD
3. Virgin Australia13644Main hub: PER
4. QantasLink11947Main hub: SYD
5. Regional Express Airlines11250Main hub: SYD
6. Alliance Airlines3425Main hub: BNE
7. Hinterland Aviation3320Main hub: HID
8. Airnorth3215Main hub: DRW
9. Network Aviation2615Main hub: PER
10. Skytrans2312Main hub: CNS
11. Air New Zealand184Main hub: MEL
12. Singapore Airlines82Main hub: SYD

"Routes" = distinct origin-destination city pairs departing the country, counted once. Regularly-served routes only. Data: AirportRoutes.

Where the Routes Are: Australia’s Busiest Airports

Map of the busiest airports in Australia by number of outgoing routes
Australia's busiest airports by number of outgoing routes. Data: AirportRoutes · Map: Mappr.

Each Airline — Where It Flies

Pick an airline and toggle Domestic / Continental / Intercontinental to see where each one flies. Click a dot for details.

1. Qantas

174 outgoing routes from 27 airports in Australia to 59 destinations (29 domestic, 30 international). Busiest bases: SYD, BNE, MEL. Top destinations include Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth.

2. Jetstar

172 outgoing routes from 22 airports in Australia to 39 destinations (21 domestic, 18 international). Busiest bases: SYD, MEL, BNE. Top destinations include Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Coolangatta, Adelaide.

3. Virgin Australia

136 outgoing routes from 30 airports in Australia to 44 destinations (38 domestic, 5 international). Busiest bases: PER, BNE, MEL. Top destinations include Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide.

4. QantasLink

119 outgoing routes from 49 airports in Australia to 47 destinations (46 domestic, 1 international). Busiest bases: SYD, MEL, BNE. Top destinations include Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Canberra, Brisbane.

5. Regional Express Airlines

112 outgoing routes from 49 airports in Australia to 50 destinations (50 domestic, 0 international). Busiest bases: SYD, MEL, ADL. Top destinations include Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Port Lincoln, Melbourne.

6. Alliance Airlines

34 outgoing routes from 13 airports in Australia to 25 destinations (24 domestic, 1 international). Busiest bases: BNE, PER, CNS. Top destinations include Brisbane, Cairns, Olympic Dam, Darwin, The Granites.

7. Hinterland Aviation

33 outgoing routes from 20 airports in Australia to 20 destinations (20 domestic, 0 international). Busiest bases: HID, CNS, OKR. Top destinations include Palm Island, Horn Island, Townsville, Cooktown, Cairns.

8. Airnorth

32 outgoing routes from 12 airports in Australia to 15 destinations (14 domestic, 1 international). Busiest bases: DRW, KNX, GOV. Top destinations include Kununurra, Nhulunbuy, Groote Eylandt (Alyangula), Maningrida, Mcarthur River.

9. Network Aviation

26 outgoing routes from 13 airports in Australia to 15 destinations (13 domestic, 2 international). Busiest bases: PER, PHE, BME. Top destinations include Perth, Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman, Paraburdoo.

10. Skytrans

23 outgoing routes from 11 airports in Australia to 12 destinations (12 domestic, 0 international). Busiest bases: CNS, SYD, AUU. Top destinations include Cairns, Lord Howe Island, Lockhart River, Bamaga, Sydney.

11. Air New Zealand

18 outgoing routes from 9 airports in Australia to 4 destinations (0 domestic, 4 international). Busiest bases: MEL, BNE, SYD. Top destinations include Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown.

12. Singapore Airlines

8 outgoing routes from 7 airports in Australia to 2 destinations (0 domestic, 2 international). Busiest bases: SYD, DRW, PER. Top destinations include Singapore, Auckland.

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