The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the net profits of airlines will reach 36,600 million dollars (34,748 million euros) in 2025, which represents a 16% more than the 31,500 million dollars (29,906 million euros) of the previous year.
According to a statement, the general director of the entity, Willie Walsh, has highlighted that “the airlines will take advantage of the drop in oil prices maintaining occupancy factors above 83%, strictly controlling costs and investing in decarbonization.
Regarding the number of passengers transported by air, this figure is expected to reach a new record with 5.2 billion in 2025, which represents an increase of 6.7% compared to the previous year.
In addition, the entity also foresees that companies will exceed one trillion dollars (956,054 million euros) in billingwhich represents a new brand and 4.4% more compared to 2024, while the growth in expenses will be 940,000 million dollars (892,294 million euros), 4% more.
«A trillion dollars is a lot: almost 1% of the world economy»Walsh highlighted. However, he also recalled that “airlines bear $940 billion in costs, not to mention interest and taxes, so their net profit margin is only 3.6%.”
In other words, the margin between profits and losses, even in the good year we expect in 2025, is only seven dollars per passenger.
However, IATA has argued that further increases are being held back by forced capacity discipline resulting from unresolved supply chain issues.
This limits growth opportunities and increases costs in several areas, such as aircraft leasing and maintenance, according to the international entity.
Likewise, the Airline net profitability will also declineas they are expected to exhaust their pandemic-era tax losses, leading to increased tax rates in 2025.
Broad benefits of air sector connectivity
On the other hand, IATA has highlighted the broad benefits of the growing connectivity of the sector. The most recent estimates show that it is expected that airline employment to grow up to 3.3 million in 2025.
In the words of the employers’ association, airlines are the core of a global aviation value chain that employs 86.5 million people and generates 4.1 trillion dollars of economic impact, which represents 3.9% of the World GDP (2023 figures).
For Walsh, this growth means that aviation connectivity will create and support jobs across the global economy. Among the most obvious are the hospitality and retail sectors, which “will prepare to meet the needs of a growing number of customers.”
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