Airlines see profits flying high in 2015

Eight out of 10 airline managers are expecting profitability to improve in 2015 as crude oil prices fall and more passengers fly.

A plane sits on the tarmac at Logan International Airport

Eight out of 10 airline managers are expecting profitability to improve in 2015 as oil prices fall. (AAP)

Airlines see their profits taking off in 2015 as oil prices continue to fall.

They are also expecting more passengers to travel this year despite concerns about the global economy, a quarterly survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) found.

Some 78 per cent of chief financial officers and cargo managers polled in January told the trade association for the world's major airlines they expected an improvement in profitability in the year ahead.

Input costs fell during the December quarter of last year, as crude oil prices continued to slide, and airline managers are expecting this trend to continue in 2015.

The airlines reported increases in passenger and cargo volumes during the final quarter of last year.

"There is also confidence that air transport volumes will continue to expand over the next 12 months, despite rising concerns about the health of the global economy," the IATA said.

Lower fuel costs are also expected to reduce yields, which is what passengers pay to travel.

The findings came as ratings agency Moody's forecast that airline profits would rise by 12 to 14 per cent this year, as fuel prices dropped and Qantas and Virgin pulled back from a battle to increase market share.

The IATA's membership includes 250 airlines in 117 nations.


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Source: AAP


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