|
 U.S. airlines are expected to carry 14.2 million passengers
worldwide from Wednesday, Sept. 2, through Tuesday, Sept. 8, up 3
percent from a year earlier, Washington-based trade group Airlines
for America said on Tuesday.
The group has forecast that summer travel will reach an all-time
high on the wings of a strong U.S. economy. Passenger traffic grew 3
percent in the first half of 2015, although a 3-percent decline in
fares during the same period kept operating revenues flat for U.S.
carriers, Airlines for America said.
 Yet a 34-percent decline in fuel costs, airlines' greatest variable
expense, has boosted their profit.
"Six years post-recession, airlines are finally realizing profit
margins that are on par with the S&P 500 average, a barometer of
U.S. corporate performance," the group's Chief Economist John
Heimlich said.
[to top of second column] |
The 10 publicly traded U.S. airlines collectively had a profit
margin of 11.2 percent in the first half of 2015, up from 4.9
percent in the prior year, according to the group.
(Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
