(Boursier.com) — An excellent 2023 financial year, followed by normalization. These are the latest forecasts from the International Air Transport Association, which anticipates record revenues for the airline sector this year with an overall net profit of $23.3 billion, more than double what the organization forecast in last June. Revenue is expected to grow 7.6% to $964 billion in 2024, up from $896 billion this year, while net profit is expected to increase slightly to $25.7 billion. The industry’s operating profit is expected to reach $49.3 billion in 2024, compared to $40.7 billion in 2023.
IATA says rising interest rates are pushing up the cost of capital while windfall gains from rising air freight and passenger fares are expected to dissipate. Freight revenues are expected to fall to $111 billion in 2024, down sharply from the peak of $210 billion reached in 2021, but still higher than 2019 revenues, which were $101 billion.
“Given significant losses in recent years, the net profit of $25.7 billion expected in 2024 is a testament to the resilience of aviation. People love to travel and this has helped airlines return to connectivity levels before the pandemic. The speed of the recovery has been extraordinary. Yet it also appears that the pandemic has cost aviation around four years of growth. From 2024 onwards, the outlook indicates that we can expect more normal growth patterns for passengers and cargo,” says IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
4.7 billion people are nevertheless expected to travel in 2024, a historic record, higher than the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019.
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