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In 2023, total airline revenue should increase to an estimated 93% of the pre-pandemic level, driven by the recovery in passenger traffic
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Air cargo revenue looks set to moderate next year to around US$150 billion, reflecting both softer volumes and yields, from $201.4 billion in 2022
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Air cargo’s share of total revenue will ease further to around 20%
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Cargo revenue in 2023 will still be about 50% higher than the level in 2019
Air cargo revenues look set to moderate next year to around US$150 billion from $201.4 billion in 2022, reflecting both softer volumes and yields, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.
Total airline revenue, meanwhile, is expected to increase to about 93% of the pre-pandemic level in 2023, driven by a recovery in passenger traffic, according to IATA, which has 300 member airlines worldwide.
The global airlines industry is on course to make small net earnings of US$4.7 billion, its first since 2019, as carriers continue to cut losses from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on their business this year.
Air cargo’s share of total revenue is expected to ease further to around 20%.
Although IATA is expecting this rebalancing of airline revenue, cargo revenue in 2023 will still be around 50% higher than the level seen in 2019 – highlighting the ongoing important role played by the cargo sector in the post- pandemic industry and economic recovery.
As the world and the air transport industry recover from the crisis, normalization in activity is underway, IATA. Passenger markets are recovering strongly as more routes are opened while cargo volumes have begun to ease in 2022 from their recent highs amid weaker global economic growth and geopolitical tensions.
IATA said total airline revenue should reach around 87% of the 2019 level in 2022, up from 60% last year. With cargo revenue likely to be broadly unchanged this year, its share of total revenue will slip back to around 28%.
Air cargo played a critical role during the pandemic, to ensure that vital vaccines could be made available globally and to ensure that businesses and economic activity continued to function despite the extraordinary circumstances.
Moreover, cargo became an increasingly important source of revenue for many airlines during the COVID crisis, reaching a high of 40% of total airline revenue in 2021, compared with 10-15% during the pre-pandemic period.
This significant development reflects a combination of limited air passenger traffic, a sharp rise in cargo volumes, and higher yields in recent years.
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