LONDON – According to a report published by Cirium, global airline revenues have soared 70% in the first half of this year.
O’Toole: $15bn Loss is Recovery…
Kevin O’Toole, the VP of Strategy at Cirium, had this to say:
“It is a testament to these extraordinary times that a loss of nearly $15 billion for the airline industry in the first half of 2022 ranks as a positive sign of recovery.”
“Yet positive it clearly is, at least in contrast to the loss of almost $70 billion in 2020 and over $30 billion for the same period a year ago.”
“Global revenues soared by 70%, bringing the total within 20% of the 2019 record, with almost half coming from the North American carriers alone as they marked up a 5% increase over pre-pandemic levels and returned to a modest operating profit.”
The Numbers…
The report highlighted revenues, operating profits, and net results for over 100 carriers that the analytics firm tracks.
Revenue had increased by 70% to $289bn, which is an improvement from 2021’s figures, where $170bn was made, and in 2020 when $173bn was made.
This does represent a significant recovery, as the industry aims to achieve the pre-pandemic figure of $348bn recorded in 2019.
Operating results for 2022 were -$13.7bn, which is an improvement from -$27.7bn in 2021 and -$56.6bn in 2020.
For the pre-pandemic figures, there is still a long way to go, as pre-pandemic figures posted a profit of $18.7bn.
As for the net result, this was recorded at -$14.9bn, which is a major improvement compared to the -$32.5bn lost in 2021 and -$69.5bn lost in 2020.
The industry needs to exceed $10bn in profits if it is to achieve pre-pandemic levels on that front.
Delta Top Of The Charts For Revenue…
The report also highlighted that Delta Air Lines is in the #1 spot for Top 25 Airline Groups by Revenue for Jan-Jun 2022.
2022 saw Delta accrue $23,172m in revenue, which represents a 105% increase compared to the same period last year and is 1% higher than 2019’s numbers.
The carrier’s operating result for 2022 was $736 million, with its net result being -$205 million.
In the #2 spot was FedEx, which for a cargo carrier, was hardly surprising during the COVID-19 pandemic as the cargo market boomed.
The carrier posted revenues of $23,072m, which is an improvement of eight percent compared to the same period last year, and 23% better than 2019 levels.
Its operating result was $1,599m, and its net result was $1,402m, which highlights a strong profit made by the carrier.
Overall…
Based on Cirium’s findings, it’s clear that we are well into the stages of recovery, and a $15bn loss across the 100 carriers monitored is actually a good thing.
Compared to 2020 and 2021’s figures, it’s a major improvement, whereby in 2023-24, we could see profitability across the sector.
Despite a global recession looming, those in the industry can take solace in the fact that things aren’t as bad as they were two years ago.
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