In 2025 airlines will make an estimated USD36 billion profit on projected revenues of USD979 billion. These are big numbers, but it equates to a net margin of a mere 3.7% or USD7.20 net profit per passenger.
This profitability “is not commensurate to the enormous value that we create at the heart of a value chain supporting 3.9% of global GDP and providing and supporting jobs for 86.5 million people,” outlined Willie Walsh, Director General of International Air Transport Association (IATA) at the organisation’s 2020 AGM in New Delhi, India, at the start of Jun-2025.