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In the United States, the world’s largest aviation market, passenger carriers with long-haul networks operate a significant number of widebodies, but they make up a small percentage of their fleets. The US is also home to several cargo airlines, including some of the world’s largest cargo airlines, and they heavily rely on widebodies for their operations. While Air Canada and Aeromexico also operate large fleets, they’re significantly smaller than the largest US airlines.
Among the US passenger airlines, the three largest are United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. United and Delta have comparable transatlantic networks, with American lagging behind. United is the undisputed king of the Pacific, while American leads in Latin America. Collectively, these operations require hundreds of widebodies. The cargo airlines have significant widebody services internationally, but they also rely heavily on widebodies for domestic services, whereas passenger airlines use narrowbodies for this purpose.
5
American Airlines
137 Boeing Widebodies
American Airlines was criticised for cutting its widebody fleet during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it still hasn’t been able to restore the capacity lost by the retirement of its Airbus A330 and Boeing 767 fleets. However, it still has one of the largest widebody fleets in the world, consisting exclusively of the Boeing 777 and 787. With two aircraft types, four aircraft variants (777-200ER, 777-300ER, 787-8, 787-9), and only three engine types (Rolls-Royce Trent 800, General Electric GE90, GEnx), it’s also extremely streamlined.
Planespotters.net shows that American operates 67 Boeing 777s and 70 Boeing 787s. The 777 fleet is split between 47 Trent 800-powered 777-200ERs, delivered from 1999 to 2007, and 20 777-300ERs, delivered from 2012 to 2016. The 787 fleet is split between 37 787-8s and 33 787-9s. The 777-200ER is American’s largest widebody fleet, although the 787 fleet is larger than the 777 fleet, and the 787-9 will eventually become American’s largest widebody fleet, as American has another 19 on order.
American Airlines is investing in cabin refurbishments for its entire Boeing 777 fleet, so it’s unlikely that these planes will be retired soon. Therefore, any new widebody order would be for expansion first, and then to replace the 777-200ER fleet further down the line. American has widebody bases in all of its hubs except for Washington-National and Phoenix. Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles have both the 777 and the 787, while Philadelphia and Chicago only have the 787. Meanwhile, Charlotte only has the 777.
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4
Delta Air Lines
179 Airbus & Boeing Widebodies
With 179 examples, Delta Air Lines’ widebody fleet is larger than many airlines’ entire fleets, such as Korean Air or KLM. Delta Air Lines is notable for being the only one of the three US legacy carriers to operate Airbus widebodies: elsewhere in North America, Hawaiian Airlines and Air Canada also fly such jets. It operates the Airbus A330 and Airbus A350 families, while the Boeing 767 family is the only Boeing widebody type that it currently operates, although it does have orders for the Boeing 787.
Planespotters.net shows that 
Delta Air Lines operates 81 Airbus A330s, 40 Airbus A350s, and 58 Boeing 767s. The A330 fleet is split between 11 Pratt & Whitney-powered A330-200s, 31 A330-300s (21 of which are PW4000-powered and ten of which are powered by the General Electric CF6), and 39 A330-900s. There are 40 A350-900s, which makes it Delta’s largest widebody fleet by variant, while the 58 Boeing 767s are split between 37 767-300ERs and 21 767-400ERs.
|
In Production Widebodies Ordered By Delta Air Lines |
Total Ordered |
|---|---|
|
Airbus A330-900 |
55 |
|
Airbus A350-900 |
59 |
|
Airbus A350-1000 |
20 |
|
Boeing 787-10 |
30 (+30 options) |
|
Total |
164 (up to 194) |
Delta also has 16 A330-900s, 19 A350-900s, 20 A350-1000s, and 30 Boeing 787-10s (with 30 options) on order. Once all aircraft are delivered, Delta will have 97 Airbus A330s with 55 A330-900s, 79 Airbus A350s, and up to 60 Boeing 787s. Delta has widebody bases in all of its hubs except Salt Lake City. The A330 is the only widebody based in Boston and Minneapolis, while New York also has the 767. Atlanta has the A330, 767, and the Airbus A350, while Los Angeles has the A350 and 767. Seattle and Detroit feature the A330 as well as the A350.
This Airline Has The World’s Largest Mainline Fleet In 2025
Its US legacy rivals aren’t far behind.
3
UPS Airlines
196 Airbus & Boeing Widebodies
UPS Airlines is not a passenger airline, but it operates one of the largest widebody fleets in the world. It’s one of the largest cargo airlines in the world, and is the air counterpart to United Parcel Service, the world’s largest courier company by revenue. Compared to contemporaries like FedEx, UPS has long relied more heavily on its trucking division, but, even with this operating structure, its air fleet is massive.
Planespotters.net shows that UPS Airlines operates 52 Airbus A300s, 43 Boeing 747s, and 101 Boeing 767s. All A300s are the A300-600RF variant, and all 767s are the 767-300F variant. The 747 fleet is split between 13 747-400s (two of which are 747-400BCFs) and 30 747-8Fs. UPS also holds 16 additional orders for the 767-300F, with its fleet numbering 117 when all are delivered. In addition, UPS intends to retire some of its oldest Airbus A300-600RFs, and it recently retired all of its MD-11Fs in the wake of the UPS 2976 crash in November 2025.
While UPS’s widebody fleet is enormous, the only narrowbodies that it operates are 75 Boeing 757-200SFs. Cargo airlines tend to prefer using widebody aircraft even on shorter routes. In addition, UPS and other cargo airlines tend to prefer using older planes. While it’s taking delivery of new Boeing 767-300Fs, its Airbus A300s are over 20 years old on average, while its 757s are over 30 years old on average. On average, UPS’s passenger fleet is 21.5 years old, significantly older than most passenger airlines.
2
United Airlines
233 Boeing Widebodies
United Airlines has the largest widebody fleet of any passenger US airline, and it has the world’s second-largest fleet of passenger widebodies, behind only Emirates. United has long had the strongest long-haul network out of the three legacy carriers, and it also has the highest ambitions for future growth. While American has 19 widebodies on order and Delta has 85, United Airlines holds orders for 137 additional widebody aircraft (182 if you count United’s long-delayed order of Airbus A350-900s).
Planespotters.net shows that United Airlines operates 53 Boeing 767s, 96 Boeing 777s, and 84 Boeing 787s. The 767 fleet is split between 37 PW4000-powered 767-300ERs and 16 CF6-powered 767-400ERs, while the 777 fleet is split between 19 777-200s, 55 777-200ERs (split between PW4000 and GE90-powered examples), along with 22 777-300ERs. Meanwhile, the 787 fleet is split between 12 787-8s, 51 787-9s, and 21 787-10s.
When all orders are delivered, United Airlines will have 132 787-9s and 77 787-10s, with a total of 221 Boeing 787s. In addition, United holds 45 orders for Airbus A350-900s, although the status of this order is extremely volatile. It’s believed that United may significantly alter this order, or cancel it for more 787s. The 787 is based at all United hubs except Guam, while Houston, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles also have 777 bases. In addition, the 767 can be found in Newark, Houston, Washington Dulles, and Chicago.
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1
FedEx Express
288 Airbus, Boeing & McDonnell Douglas Widebodies
FedEx Express operates the world’s largest fleet of widebody aircraft. It is also the world’s largest cargo airline, and it’s the air division of FedEx Corporation, one of the world’s largest courier companies. It’s the closest rival to UPS, but as opposed to UPS’s operating strategy, which focuses more on trucking, FedEx is often described as “an airline with some trucks.”
Planespotters.net shows that FedEx Express operates 50 Airbus A300-600RFs, 150 Boeing 767-300Fs, and 59 Boeing 777Fs. In addition, FedEx owns 29 McDonnell Douglas MD-11Fs, although these planes were grounded in the aftermath of the UPS 2976 crash, and their future is unclear. The carrier also holds orders for another two Boeing 767-300Fs and eight Boeing 777Fs, with these fleets numbering 152 and 67, respectively, once all deliveries have been made.
|
MD-11 Operators |
Number |
|---|---|
|
FedEx Express |
29 (grounded) |
|
Western Global Airlines |
15 (grounded) |
Similar to UPS, FedEx’s only large narrowbody fleet is its 82-strong fleet of Boeing 757-200SFs. However, FedEx also has a significant fleet of ATR42, ATR72, Cessna 208, and Cessna 408 turboprop aircraft, which are operated by partner airlines under the FedEx Feeder subbrand. The fleet of FedEx Feeder aircraft is nearly as large as FedEx Express, and is a critical component to FedEx’s overall operations.
