FACTBOX: Europe's biggest airlines by traffic

(Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) is examining a takeover of Scandinavian carrier SAS (SAS.ST), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. That would create an airline almost as big as Europe's largest by traffic, Air France KLM (AIRF.PA).

Here is a list of Europe's largest airlines by traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), and by cargo, measured in scheduled freight tons carried, based on 2007 statistics from the International Air Transport Association and company Web sites:-

CARRIER RPKs (billions)

Air France KLM 203

Lufthansa (incl Swiss) 147

British Airways 113

Iberia 54

SAS Group 41

Virgin Atlantic 41