IATA Airline Business Confidence Survey

Source: IATA

IATA latest business confidence survey of airlines CFOs and heads of cargo.

Key points:

• Our July 2021 survey of airline CFOs and Heads of Cargo showed that Q2 2021 brought some relief to airlines’ financials as air travel demand started to slowly recover in some markets. Respondents have also become more optimistic about the future air travel volumes and profitability.
• The majority of the sample reported that passenger yields stayed at low levels in Q2. However, they are expected to improve in the next twelve months as demand improves. Similarly, cargo yields are expected to remain elevated, supporting airline revenues.
• 55% of the respondents reported a reduction in their workforce in Q2 as airlines continued restructuring. On the other hand, expectations for the future improved as only 15% of respondents expect a further decrease in employment levels in the next twelve months compared with 24% in the April survey.
• The majority of the respondents (52%) expects air travel demand to recover to 2019 levels in 2023, which is consistent with IATA’s global passenger forecast. The North American region should lead the demand recovery while African routes should be the last to recover.