While airfares may cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, airlines' profit per passenger is often less than $10, and in Africa , it is around $1 per passenger. While the industry generates around $1 trillion in annual revenues, 96-97% of that is swallowed up in expenses. When it comes to planemakers, Airbus has managed to more or less maintain its annual profitability , while Boeing remains in crisis since its last 'normal' year in 2018 .
Here is what to know about how much airlines make in profit from their passengers. A trillion-dollar industry The aviation industry generated almost a trillion dollars in revenue in 2024, reaching $996 billion. However, revenues and profit are not the same thing.
The profit margin on that revenue was only around $30.5 billion. That's a profit of around 3%, meaning airlines run on a very narrow profitability margin.
In 2025, IATA is expecting a global net profit for the airline industry of just $36.6 billion, which translates to a 3.6% profit margin.
The operating profit for the industry is expected to be $67.5 billion in 2025. Compared with 2024, revenue is expected to grow 4.
4%, while year-on-year expenses will increase 4.0%. Total revenue for the airline industry is expected to reach $1,007 billion, while expenses will sit at $940 billion.
Qantas said that the remaining two Airbus A380s will return to service before the end of 2025. Airlines make one or two coffees per passenger Ask people how much they think airlines make in profit from t.
