63% Micro
26% Small
5% Mid
4% Large
2% Mega
INSIGHTS - MARCH 2025
UK Airlines Industry
UK Airlines Industry Information
The air transportation industry includes the transport of passengers or freight by air or via space using services such as scheduled & chartered passenger air transport, air freight, satellite launches and spacecraft.
Active Businesses
3,230
Annual Sales
£48bn +
Employees
123,862
Economic Contribution
£16bn
Tags
Location of Airlines Companies
Airlines Companies by Size
Largest Airlines Companies
Turnover
British Airways Plc
£14.3bn
Jet2.com Limited
£6.3bn
Heathrow Airport Limited
£3.6bn
Airlines Companies by Age
29% Young
26% Established
23% Mature
22% Startup
0% New
Oldest Airlines Companies
Established
Fastest Growing Airlines Companies
34% Declining
23% Rapid
21% Healthy
14% High
8% Low
Fastest Growing Airlines Companies
3yr CAGR
Jet2.com Limited
151%
Airlines Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Airlines Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Airlines Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Airlines Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Air transport Industry Insights
There are 3,230 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £48 billion .
The Industry employs around 123,861 people and contributes £16 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Airlines companies is London with 1,014 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 36.
The largest Airlines company is British Airways Plc with a turnover of £14.3bn. 63% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 5% Mid companies.
22% of the Airlines Industry is made up of 22% Startup but the majority are Young businesses (29%) the oldest company is Isles Of Scilly Steamship Company Limited founded in 1920.
Airlines industry has a number of high growth companies (14%), the fastest growing company is Jet2.com Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 151%. Other fast growing companies include Leeds Bradford Airport Limited (117%), Birmingham Airport Limited (97%) and Brightsun Travel (Uk) Limited (94%).
The UK Airlines Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 7.53x, Turnover multiple of 1.69x and a Net Asset multiple of 2.60x.
