Confidence among airline bosses has picked up with more than three-quarters of chief financial officers stating that profitability increased in the second quarter compared to the same period last year.
International airline body IATA said its quarterly business confidence index suggested that the industry reached the bottom of its profitability cycle in the first quarter of the year.
It said industry heads were ‘markedly’ more confident about the outlook for profitability over the year ahead than they had been previously.
More than four-fifths expected passenger volumes to rise over the next 12 months and half reported a fall in operating costs in the second quarter compared to a year ago.
Some 43% reported higher passenger yields compared to last year, which was the highest proportion in nearly six years.
