Technology Slice Blog

IATA Airline Margins - International airlines will likely beat earlier profit forecasts this year after revived passenger and cargo traffic, but the industry remains fragile and underlying profitability is weak. Global airlines are now expected to achieve an aggregate net profit of $15.1 billion this year, up from a forecast of $8.9 billion earlier this year, the International Air Transport Association said. The industry group said it has also tweaked its forecast for 2011 and now expects the airline industry to post an aggregate net profit of $9.1 billion next year, compared with an estimate of $5.3 billion made in September. IATA said, however, the airline industry's average 2.7% net-profit margin remains weak and will fall to 1.5% in 2011. "Our profit projections increased for both 2010 and 2011 based on an exceptionally strong third-quarter performance. But despite higher profit projections, we still see the recovery pausing next year after a strong post-recession reb...