Why Don't Any US Airlines Operate The World's Largest Commercial Aircraft? (2025)

In 1969, the United States led the world with giant widebody commercial aircraft as Pan Am became the launch customer for the Boeing 747 Jumbo. The Boeing 747 was enlarged in subsequent variants and proved a massive success both in the domestic US and international export markets. Fast-forward to today, all remaining passenger 747s are in service with foreign airlines, and there are no double-decker or quad-engined aircraft in passenger service with US airlines.

Airbus A380

Launch Customer(s)

Singapore Airlines

Manufacturer

Airbus

Aircraft Type

Widebody

First Delivery

October 15, 2007

Last Delivery

December 16, 2021

Number Delivered

251

No US carrier opted to purchase the massive Airbus A380 Superjumbo. Making the matter more stark, no US airline has ordered either of the upcoming Boeing 777X passenger variants. The Boeing 777X will be the largest commercial aircraft in production, but it is too big for US airlines. But why? If everything is bigger in America, why are the aircraft smaller?

Disappearance Of The 747s

Photo:TonyV3112| Shutterstock

Over the years, US carriers have merged, resulting in the United States having the world's four largest airlines by fleet size, namely Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest. But while these airlines have merged and gotten bigger over time, their aircraft sizes have gotten smaller and appear set to get smaller still.

In 1994, American Airlines became the first of the extant US airlines to retire its fleet of Boeing 747s. American merged with US Airways in 2015, and that major carrier never operated the Jumbo. On November 7, 2017, United Airlines retired the last of its Boeing 747s with the final flight departing from San Francisco International Airport.

United's Boeing 747 retirement left Delta Air Lines as the final US carrier operating the type. Delta inherited a number of Jumbos from its merger with Northwest Airlines. However, Delta would not be operating its Jumbos for much longer. A few weeks after United, the United States lost its final Boeing 747s as Delta's final 747 flight took place in December 2017. More airlines have since retired their flights (e.g., British Airways and Air France). Only Korean Air, Air China, Lufthansa, and Rossiya still operate passenger Boeing 747 flights.

A Land Of Missing Giants

If US carriers were looking for a double-decker replacement for their aging Boeing 747s, they could have purchased Boeing's final variant, the Boeing 747-8I. However, none did. The only American orders for the aircraft came from US cargo airlines and the US Air Force as the Force One and later Doomsday aircraft replacements. Some foreign carriers purchased the Boeing 747-8I as a passenger airline, but no US carrier.

Then there was the Airbus A380 Superjumbo, a full-double-decker aircraft. While the aircraft proved inefficient compared with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350, that wasn't known early in its development and service period. The aircraft attracted around 250 orders from flag carriers from Australia to the United Kingdom. However, no US carriers purchased the aircraft. No carrier in the Western Hemisphere ordered the Superjumbo.

The only other Airbus or Boeing quad-engined aircraft in service today is the A340. The Airbus A340 was built between 1991 and 2012 and a total of 377 examples were delivered. It remains in service with a number of airlines, including Germany's Lufthansa, although it is being phased out around the world. Again, no US carriers purchased the aircraft.

Zero Orders For The Boeing 777X

Some may assume US carriers prefer to purchase domestic Boeing aircraft instead of foreign Airbus aircraft. However, this doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Delta Air Lines has abandoned Boeing widebody aircraft and is transitioning to an all-Airbus widebody fleet. The only Boeing widebody aircraft remaining are Boeing 767s, and these are gradually being replaced by Airbus aircraft. Delta retired the last of its class 777s during the pandemic.

The largest aircraft currently flying with US airlines is the Boeing 777-300ER, which is in service with both United and American. Boeing has produced a successor to the Boeing 777-300ER and the older 777-200s, which are also operated by those airlines. Yet, US airlines are not replacing older generation 777s with the new 777X. Instead, they are replacing them with smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliners and/or Airbus A330s and A350s. This means that eventually, the 777s will retire, and the largest aircraft in commercial US service will be the Airbus A350-1000.

The Boeing 747-400, formerly operated by US airlines, has typical two-class seating of up to 568 passengers. But now even the two-class 395-passenger 777-8 and the 426-passenger 777-9 are considered too big. Instead, the largest being selected is the Airbus A350-1000 with a 350-410 passenger capacity in a typical three-class configuration. The largest new aircraft American has acquired is the 787-9 with a two-class capacity of 295, while the largest United is purchasing is the 787-10 with a 336-passenger two-class capacity.

Why US Airlines Are Not Purchasing The 777X

Photo: Boeing

While one of the key factors in US airlines not selecting the Boeing 777X is its production delays, that is not the only reason. It is also not likely the primary reason. In August 2024, United said the upcoming 777X was simply too big for the airline's needs. Some may see that as ironic, given that United is one of the largest airlines serving the world's largest aviation market and flies some of the world's long-haul routes. Business Insider reported that United thinks a smaller widebody is a better fit for United's model.

United has seven hubs across the United States: Chicago, Houston, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Newark. Having so many hubs splits United's passenger traffic. The large Triple Seven is better suited to airlines like Emirates or British Airways, which operate with a single large hub. United has around 22 daily flights to London, but they are served from all seven United hubs. Australia's Sydney is served by three United hubs.

In other words, US airlines are flying more nonstop flights from their various hubs instead of gathering them in a single hub. US airline giants didn't order the 747-8, the A380, and aren't ordering the 777X, because the US air traffic is fragmented and splintered. Instead of the 777X, United has invested heavily in the smaller 787, while Delta has selected the A330neo and A350. It is unclear how American will eventually replace its 777 fleet. It is currently refurbishing its 777-300ER and weighing operations for replacing its aging 777-200s, which are now pushing 25 years old.

Many US Airlines Exclusively Operate Narrowbodies

Photo: Southwest Airlines

Only four airlines in the United States operate widebody aircraft. They are Delta, American, United, and Hawaiian. Hawaiian has purchased a handful of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which will be inherited by Alaska Airlines as it absorbs Hawaiian. Except for some aging Boeing 717s, Hawaiian's fleet is otherwise made up of Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Southwest is the world's largest airline by fleet size to exclusively operate narrowbodies. Like Alaska and Sun Country Airlines, it exclusively operates Boeing 737 narrowbodies. Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue operate fleets exclusively made up of Airbus A320 family aircraft. Allegiant Air mostly operates an Airbus A320-family fleet, but it also operates some newly delivered Boeing 737 MAX 8s.

All this is to say that while there are around ten large airlines in the United States, most don't operate widebody aircraft. This means that the potential customers for the Boeing 777X are just three customers, although it's possible other customers could emerge. For now, it seems that US cargo airlines could be the more likely domestic customer for the 777X, although no orders have yet been placed.

An Age Of Uncertainty

It should also be stressed that the world is currently undergoing a global trade war. This may have large implications for the future of widebody sales. As of the time of writing, China has stated it is pausing all deliveries of Boeing aircraft due to the tariff war. Meanwhile, the aircraft-leasing giant previously warned in March 2025 that an "absolute worst case scenario" of tit-for-tat tariffs would harm Boeing more than Airbus.

AerCap warned that Boeing could find itself cut off from the international market and the world would choose Airbus aircraft instead, while Boeing would be left with just the United States market. It is too soon to say if this is actually beginning to unfold, but Delta has already said it would not pay the tariffs and will delay Airbus deliveries.

A prolonged trade war could put Delta's Airbus A350 purchases in question, and the airline might have to look for a domestic alternative. On the other hand, all the Boeing 777X existing orders are for export customers. If AerCap's prediction proves to be true, it could put the 777X program in doubt. While the trade war has brought a lot of confusion to the aviation industry, it is clear that giant aircraft have long since lost their appeal in the US market.