Passenger numbers on the up: IATA

Passenger numbers on the up: IATA

It’s been a stressful year with the aviation industry, but stats are showing profits are expected to stay in the black.

According to IATA’s quarterly survey of airline CFOs and heads of cargo in April, the future is looking bright, off the back of consistent improvements in recent performance. After a period of no gain in finances mid-2014, profits are proving strong.

Compared to a year ago, the figures are painting a positive picture, with falling input costs and growth in volumes behind the better financial performances of late.

Respondents in the survey reported seeing a drop in input costs in first quarter, largely due to lower crude oil prices, with this trend expected to hang around for the year ahead.

And on top of this, both passenger and cargo numbers have reportedly expanded, and there is a stack of confidence in air transport volumes continuing to fatten up over the next 12 months, with air travel up around 6% compared to last year.

A massive 79% of respondents also expect to see an increase in passenger volumes over the next year, putting a lot of faith in the airline business.

Declines in yields in both these businesses have reflected downward pressure from falling fuel prices, but fuel hedging has meant that some airlines are not yet benefiting fully from the lower fuel price. There could be further declines in yields once hedging positions unwind, if fuel costs remain relatively low, with the results of the April survey suggesting that yields will decline during the next 12 months.

Airline employment activity is on the up and up for the first quarter, but the April survey reveals that CFOs and cargo heads expect no growth in employment in the year ahead.

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