The projected profit per passenger in the global aviation industry won't even cover the cost of a hot dog at most World Cup stadiums.
This was stated by Marie Owens Thomsen, Chief Economist of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). She noted that the financial and oil & gas sectors traditionally show much higher profitability than aviation.
"The net profit of the aviation industry has never exceeded 5%. In this context, a 2% net profit is equivalent to about $23 billion for the entire global aviation sector. Some years, that's comparable to the quarterly profit of just one large oil company," she said.
IATA initially expected fuel costs to account for about 27% of total airline expenses in 2026, but now the forecast has been revised upward to 31%. Dividing the projected $23 billion global aviation profit by the total number of passengers yields only $4.5 per passenger, which wouldn't even buy a hot dog at most World Cup stadiums.
