Of all the airlines that fly in and out of the Tar Heel State on a daily basis, few have the type of presence that a certain Dallas-based airline has secured, with American Airlines flying to the top of the state’s aviation leaderboard in 2024.
Given the carrier’s 69.64% market share at the state’s primary airport (Charlotte Douglas International Airport) and slight edge for the top spot up the road at the second-largest airport in North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham International Airport), it’s likely of little surprise to learn that American has a firm hold on Carolinians’ hearts.
National Aviation Day is August 19. BetCarolina.com celebrated by using Google Trends to find the favorite airlines of North Carolina residents. We broke from our traditional North Carolina sports betting coverage and ranked the top 5 airlines by search interest scores, between August 12, 2023 – August 12, 2024.
Top 5 Airlines For Carolinians
Rank | Airline | Search Interest Score |
1 | American Airlines | 60 |
2 | Delta Airlines | 58 |
3 | Southwest Airlines | 57 |
4 | United Airlines | 46 |
5 | Spirit Airlines | 28 |
Which Carrier Wins Out in North Carolina?
Given American’s presence in places like Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, where the carrier hauled just under 37 million passengers in the most recent fiscal year (March 2023 through February 2024), it’s likely of little surprise to learn that the longstanding airline is Carolina’s favorite.
What is a surprise is how small a margin there was between American and the next closest airlines, as the carrier had to eke out the top spot over Atlanta’s Delta Airlines, which finished one point lower at 58, while Dallas’ Southwest Airlines was on their heels with a search interest score of 57.
Delta’s presence on the list isn’t a surprise, given the carrier’s longstanding presence at RDU, where they have the second largest market share behind American at 20.78%, but Southwest’s is a bit of a shocker.
That’s because the Texas mainstay only has a 15.38% market share at RDU and a minuscule presence at CLT (with a 1.58% market share overall), speaking to the popularity of the nation’s original low-cost carrier.
Rounding out the list of the most popular airlines in North Carolina for 2024 were carriers like United Airlines, which finished with a search interest score of 46, while ultra-low-cost hauler Spirit Airlines finished things off in the No. 5 spot with a total score of 28.
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Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
