The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s latest financial results from Q3 2016 continue to indicate another solid quarter for industry profitability, although there are ongoing signs that momentum in the profitability cycle has weakened.
Global airline share prices jumped by 7.5 percent in November, driven by a 16.4percent increase for North America carriers.
Brent crude oil prices recently reached a 17-month high, following the agreement by OPEC to restrict oil supplies.
The oil market is gradually re-balancing, with prices expected to trend upwards modestly in the coming years.
The Association said while passenger yields edged down in September, the intense downward pressure on yields has eased since earlier in 2016, in keeping with the change in the trend of oil prices seen over the period.
The premium segment continues to be an important buffer for airline financial performance. While premium traffic growth has lagged, premium airfares have held up better than those in economy on many routes so far this year.
Annual growth in passenger volumes remains broadly in line with its 10-year average.
Despite easing in October, the seasonally-adjusted load factor remained above the 80percent-mark
Air freight volumes have been boosted by a stronger-than-expected peak season in 2016, with traffic up more than eight percent year-on-year in October. The freight load factor has rebounded from its early-2016 low.
Financial indicators Global airline share prices jumped by 7.5percent in November, led by a surge in North America .
IATA also disclosed that global airline share prices jumped by 7.5percent in November – the biggest monthly increase since October 2015. This was led by carriers in North America, whose index surged by 16.4percent during the month, in part reflecting investor confidence that airlines will be able to halt the declines in unit revenues during 2017.
