'Global' companies for real: the magnificent nine that fly to all six continents
Very few companies fly around the world and touch the six inhabited continents of the earth
United Airlines
Turkish Airlines
Qatar Airways
Qantas
Emirates
Delta
British Airways
Air France
Air Canada
France
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Next March 15 (Or rather, on the 16th, when his first flight to Australia will touch down in Melbourne), Turkish Airlines will join the exclusive club of companies serving all six inhabited continents of the globe: Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Oceania. Another record for the Istanbul-based airline, to be added to that of airline with the most international destinations (more than 300).
In a world where everything is global, it might come as a surprise that there are only nine truly global companies, reaching all inhabited continents (counting, indeed, Turkish). Of these, three are in Europe: British Airways, Air France and Turkish Airlines; two in the Middle East: the 'biggies' of the Gulf. Emirates and Qatar Airways; three in North America: United Airlines, Delta Airlines and Air Canada; one in Oceania: Qantas.
Landing all over the world is very onerous logistically, both in terms of machines (planes) and traveling personnel. It requires the development of very complex and diversified sales channels and networks, because establishing yourself in a market in South Africa is very different from doing so in Japan or Canada. And considerable diversification of some of the on-board products as well. In short, it costs money. And a lot.
There are companies, such as British Airways, Air France and Qantas, who have global dimension in their very DNA: the first two as 'flag' companies of countries that had vast colonial possessions (France still has numerous 'Overseas Territories'); the third as a means for a remote country like Australia to break its isolation and connect to the world. Others, such as United and Delta, became such as a result of acquisitions of other companies which have gradually expanded their network; and others, such as Emirates and Qatar, who invented such out of thin air, exploiting the favorable geographic location and petrodollars of their very rich founders and owners.
From all these categories escapes Air Canada. Of course, the U.S. neighbor has always been part of the G7, but it is not a world 'power' as the U.S. or China are, nor has it had empires or colonies on other continents in the past. However, it is a country with a high quality of life and bilingualism (English/French) that have attracted people even from lands as far away as India, North Africa, and the Far East. And this melting pot has been one of the factors that has led the Maple Leaf Company to go further and further in all directions, beyond the two oceans that lap Canada.
Today, Air Canada has a Fleet of 196 aircraft, 81 of which are dedicated to long-haul. The network updated to November 2023 includes 195 destinations and pivots to three hubs: two in the eastern part of the country (Toronto and Montreal) from which we fly to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Africa and South America; and one (Vancouver) overlooking the Pacific, from where they reach Far East Asia and Oceania.
Staying in North America, of the three U.S. 'majors' (American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines) only the planes of the latter two can be seen at airports on six different continents (American does not fly to Africa)
Delta has become what it is today thanks in part to the acquisitions of Pan American (in 1991), which brought her the Latin American, European and Middle Eastern network as a dowry, and Northwest Airlines (in 2008) that earned her a prominent position across the Pacific Ocean. Today it has 980 airplanes (which make it The world's largest airline in terms of fleet size), 168 of which have long-range autonomy, and a network updated to November 2023 which includes 305 destinations. The most important intercontinental hubs are New York JFK (from where they fly mainly to Europe, the Middle East and South America), Atlanta (connected mainly to Europe and South America),Los Angeles and Seattle for connections to Far East Asia and Oceania.
United, already very 'strong' in the 1980s on connections with Asia, increased its intercontinental dimension in 2010 with the acquisition of Continental Airlines and its extensive European and Latin American network. Today has a fleet of 944 airplanes, 220 of which are capable of operating long-haul routes, and a network (updated to January 2024) of 354 destinations. From its hubs in Newark and Washington Dulles on the east coast we fly mainly to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America; Chicago is mainly related to Europe and South America, while Houston is the main hub for flights from South America; from San Francisco and Los Angeles an impressive network branches out beyond the Pacific into the Far East and Oceania.
Emirates is the company that, between the second half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, put the UAE on the air transport map. Today boasts a fleet of 265, all Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300s with long-range capabilities, and a network which in November 2023 included 144 destinations. Very strong in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America, it also flies to seven destinations in Oceania (four in Australia and three in New Zealand) and three in South America, where it connects Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro to its Dubai hub.
Founded a few years after Emirates, Qatar Airways has established itself over the years as the largest and the most awarded among the Gulf 'biggies'. Today deploys a fleet of 253 airplanes, 187 of which are capable of long-range operation. The network, updated to November 2023, has 198 destinations. It 'justifies' its presence in the 'club of 6 continents' thanks to the Daily connection between its Doha hub and São Paulo.
Also British Airways and Air France are part of the 'club' thanks to a single destination. In the case of the British company, it is Sydney in Australia, connected daily from London Heathrow via Singapore. Until about fifteen years ago, in Oceania British also flew to Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Auckland, but the advent of Gulf airlines on those routes gradually pushed it to reduce its offerings to a single destination. The British carrier has a fleet of 287 airplanes, 125 of which are suitable for the long haul. The destinations served are 206 (given November 2023).
In the case of Air France it's about Papeete, capital of French Polynesia, served daily from Paris via Los Angeles. The French company has a fleet of 217 airplanes, 112 of which are dedicated to the long haul, and a network updated to last November of 184 destinations. His main hub is at the airport Charles De Gaulle, but Some direct flights to the Caribbean and the island of Reunion, in the southern Indian Ocean, depart from the other Parisian airport, Orly..
The third European on the list is Turkish Airlines. That, even before the addition of Melbourne to its network of 346 destinations, could still boast the world record for the largest number of international destinations served. Its historic hub at Ataturk, which has come to be squeezed as a result of the huge growth in fleet and passenger traffic experienced since about fifteen years ago, is being replaced in 2019 by a huge, completely new airport positioned some thirty kilometers northwest of downtown Istanbul. The fleet has 344 aircraft, 166 of them with intercontinental autonomy.
The Australian Qantas can boast of flying to 6 continents due, in fact, to flying to only one destination on two of those continents. In Africa, the only city served is Johannesburg, connected to Perth. While In South America Qantas lands only in Santiago, Chile, linked to Sydney. The winged kangaroo company has a fleet of 125 aircraft (50 of them with long-range range) and a network updated as of last November of 104 destinations.
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