Brand Finance report highlights the world's most valuable airline brands

08-04-24

Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy, said the world's five most valuable airline brands have recorded growth in value of at least 11%.

U.S.-based Delta maintained its leading position as the world's most valuable brand for the sixth consecutive year (brand value up 21% to $10.8 billion). Other U.S. brands also posted increases. American Airlines (brand value up 21% to $10.2 billion), United Airlines (brand value up 11% to $8.7 billion) and Southwest Airlines (brand value up 15% to $5.4 billion) maintained their positions in second, third and fifth place. Rounding out the top 5 of the world's most valuable airline brands, the United Arab Emirates brand Emirates (brand value up 30 % to US$6.6 billion) defended its title as the fourth most valuable airline brand in the world.

The world's strongest airline brands are ANA (brand value down 15% to US$2 billion), followed by Indigo (brand value up 26% to US$1.1 billion) and Emirates. ANA maintains its top spot with a brand strength rating of AAA-, while Indigo and Emirates moved up from sixteenth and twelfth positions, respectively, the previous year.

The biggest improvements in brand equity were made by British Airways, Jet2.com and Emirates. They demonstrated impressive double-digit brand value increases in 2024, reflecting their commitments to excellence, customer satisfaction and strategic brand management in the ever-competitive global airline industry. British Airways and Jet2.com recorded the largest increases in brand value with a 45% increase to US$3.2 billion and a 34% increase to US$949 million, respectively. In comparison, Emirates emerged as the third largest improvement in brand value with a 30% growth. Jet2.com's performance is even more impressive because it has surpassed its pre-pandemic brand value, while BA and Emirates have more or less recovered to their pre-pandemic valuations.

With global travel recovering after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, airline brands in the Middle East have experienced a significant increase in traffic that nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 Middle Eastern aviation was also expected to recover more quickly last year due to factors such as ongoing regional fleet expansion, estimated at 5.1% annually over the next ten years, an increase in travel to the region due to the FIFA World Cup and aggressive campaigns by Saudi Arabia to attract tourists.

After Emirates took the crown of the Middle East's most valuable airline brand, Qatar Airways (brand value up 27% to $3.1 billion) is the second most valuable brand in the Middle East, maintaining its brand strength rating at AA+. Next, Saudia (brand value up 23% to $797 million) recorded a brand strength rating upgrade from A to A+, ahead of Etihad Airways (brand value up 7% to $754 million), which maintained its brand strength rating of AA.