US airlines gained $7.8bn in profit in 2023, up $6.3bn from 2022's $1.6bn net profit. However, the data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics showed that the total net profit was still shy of the $14.7bn net profit from US airlines in pre-pandemic 2019. Pre-tax operating profit for the full year was $13.2bn, up from $7.9bn in 2022.
Domestic net profit had risen to $4.3bn, up from $1.8bn in 2022. Though, it fell short of reaching 2019's $11bn. International net income swung to a positive $3.5bn, up from a $300 million loss in 2022. Last year's international profits were close to reaching 2019's net profit of $3.8bn.
Total operating revenues for 2023 were at $236.3bn, with fares totalling $179.2bn, making up 75.8% of revenues, compared to 73.5% in 2022. Though, it the Bureau of Transportation found that, in April, air fares were down nearly 6% year-on-year (YoY), though, lower fuel prices rather than lower passenger demand were reportedly the main driver.
It had reported operating expenses totalled $223.1bn, with fuel expenses totalling $47.6bn, making up 21.3% of operating expenses in 2023, down from 24.2% in 2022. In addition, labour took up 34.8% of operating expenses at $77.6bn, up from 31.5% in 2022.
The Airlines Reporting Company (ACR) had reported that total air ticket sales for US travel agencies had reached $9.1bn, up 4% YoY. It added that the average ticket price was flat YoY, though down 4% from March 2024.
US travel booking app Hopper found in its outlook for the summer months that domestic airfares were down 6%. International airfares to Europe in summer were down 8% YoY and airfares to Asia were flat, while airfares to Africa & the Middle East were up 1%.
US airlines' profit up $6bn in 2023
