The 58 airlines made a total of US$8.78bn in aggregate post-tax profits in the April-June 2015 period; this was up from the figure of US$4.49bn that was posted in the same period the year before. As for operating profitability, this reached US$12.3bn, showing a useful increase from figures of US$8.66bn recorded in 2014.
IATA believes that the second quarter surge in airlines' profitability can be traced to North American carrier activity, where consolidation and lower fuel costs helped to boost airline performance. In fact, these (13) carriers contributed 64% of the aggregate net profit recorded in the second quarter.
Equally interesting was the fact that Asia-Pacific airlines also posted better year-on-year levels; this was supported by cost-cutting measures and a prevailing easing of pressure on fuel costs. The 23 carriers surveyed in that region made US$1.84bn in net profits in all.
Continuing the success story, 13 European airlines saw combined net profits rise to US$1.39bn from US$1.02bn, compared to 2014.
It was a different tale in Latin America, where falling yields and a recession in Brazil hit the aviation sector hard, resulting in higher losses than previously recorded.
