International airline group expects a banner year for travel in 2024

Airlines expect record traveler numbers and revenues in 2024 but will continue to be constrained by the high cost of capital and limited capacity, the IATA said Wednesday. The industry group expects the sector’s net profits to reach $25.7b in 2024 on a 2.7% net profit margin, a slight improvement from this year’s upwardly revised projection of $23.3b net profit and 2.6% margin. Total revenues in 2024 are set to grow 7.6% year on year to a record $964b, with around 4.7b people expected to travel in 2024, a figure exceeding the pre-pandemic level of 4.5b seen in 2019. With demand for post-pandemic travel booming in North America, the Middle East and Europe, the airline sector has mostly recovered from the unprecedented hit suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, when planes were grounded and travel banned for extended periods in most countries around the world. IATA DG Willie Walsh said in the wake of the major losses suffered in recent years, the expected stabilization of profits in 2024 was a “tribute to aviation’s resilience.” “The speed of the recovery has been extraordinary; yet it also appears that the pandemic has cost aviation about four years of growth. From 2024 the outlook indicates that we can expect more normal growth patterns for both passenger and cargo,” Walsh said.<br/>