News
International Air Transport Association annual general meeting update
June 4th 2024
News from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting, (AGM) being held this week includes new profit forecasts, naming of the 2025 AGM host airline, the new chair of the association’s board of governors, an update of the schedule data exchange program and the 2024 diversity and inclusion awards winners. Read More »
IATA upgrades 2024 outlook; Asia-Pacific airlines forecast to book US$2.2 billion full year profit
The International Air Transport Association has revised upwards, to US$30.5 billion, its prediction for global airline profits in calendar 2024; 18.7% higher than the US$25.7 billion net profit it had previously calculated for the current year. The projection also is higher, by 11.3%, from an estimated net profit of US$27.4 billion in calendar 2023. But IATA added the forecast 5.7% return on invested capital is still 3.4 percentage points below the average cost of capital. “In a world of many and growing uncertainties, airlines continue to shore up their profitability,” IATA director general, Willie Walsh, said. “With a record five billion air travellers expected in 2024, the human need to fly has never been stronger.” Walsh added the airline industry's thin profit margins, at US$6.14 per passenger, were “barely enough for a coffee in many parts of the world”. “The airline industry is on the path to sustainable profits, but there still is a big gap to cover,” he said. “To improve profitability, the resolution of supply chain issues is of critical importance so we can deploy fleets efficiently to meet demand.” The Asia-Pacific airlines profit forecast of US$2.2 billion for the current year favourably contrasts with an estimated collective net profit of US$600 million in 2023.
Forty airlines join Schedule Data Exchange Program
Forty airlines worldwide have formally agreed to share their schedules, capacity and minimum connecting time (MCT) data with IATA’s Schedule Data Exchange Program. Another 40 airlines are planning to join the program, the airline association said. The Schedule Data Exchange Program allows airline participants access to data on a “give-to-get” principle. “The board of governors has set a strategic priority for IATA to be the most authoritative source of industry data across a wide range of topics,” Walsh said. “The value this creates for the industry is apparent in critical IATA data sets from safety and operations to business intelligence. Also, there is an industry interest in ensuring industry data has the potential to be provided from several sources. Airlines are all too familiar with the detrimental impacts of having limited competition in their supplier communities.”
IndiGo CEO named new IATA board chair; 2025 AGM to be held in Delhi
IndiGo CEO, Pieter Elbers, has succeeded RwandAir CEO, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, as chair of the IATA board of governors. IATA also has announced the India LCC will host its 2025 AGM in Delhi, its third India IATA AGM after 1958 and 1983.
Diversity and Award Winners announced
IATA diversity and inclusion award winners are Elevate Foundation CEO and founder, Kendra Kincade, who took out the inspirational role model award; Southern Africa Institute of Aviation Science and Technology founder and managing director, Mafunase Ngosa Malenga, who won the high flyer award, and British Airways, which received the diversity and team award.
