In a promising economic forecast, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) is predicting a substantial surge in airline total revenues in 2024. Projections indicate a 7.6% year-over-year growth, catapulting total revenues to an unprecedented high of $964 billion. This anticipated expansion comes against a backdrop of dynamic market conditions and a resurgence in consumer confidence.“Considering the major losses of recent years, the $25.7bn net profit expected in 2024 is a tribute to aviation’s resilience. People love to travel and that has helped airlines to come roaring back to pre-pandemic levels of connectivity. 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,” said Willie Walsh, Iata’s director general.He said industry profits had to be put into proper perspective. While the recovery was impressive, a net profit margin of 2.7% was far below what investors in almost any other industry would accept. Of course, many airlines were doing better than that average, but many were still struggling.Brendan Sullivan, Iata’s global head of cargo, told Freight News he was optimistic about the outlook for airfreight in Africa. “We anticipate the demand trend to persist, although it is expected to be somewhat lower than the global average. In 2023, growth has been negative in almost every region except Latin America. Moving forward, the industry expects to see a growth rate of around 4.5%. For Africa, we forecast a growth rate of approximately 1.5%, slightly below the global rate. However, this is mitigated by a better performance in cargo tonne kilometres (CTK) compared to many other regions. Additionally, the region's higher starting point keeps it on a relatively strong foundation.”
