DUBAI -- Airlines worldwide will achieve record revenue of $996 billion in 2024, according to an estimate put forward Monday by IATA.
Expenses will rise to $936 billion, leaving the airline industry with a net profit margin of 3.1%.
Average ticket prices per mile, or yield, will be up 3.2% year over year, according to the forecast.
Speaking at the trade group's annual general meeting at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, IATA director general Willie Walsh stressed that airlines still have thin margins. The industry's average profit per passenger this year will be a projected $6.14.
"That buys you a single espresso in this hotel's coffee shop," said Walsh.
Constraints on fleet growth continue to be cause for concern.
IATA expects the total number of commercial flights worldwide to be 38.7 million this year, a 1.4 million reduction from the estimate put out by the trade group in December. The decrease is attributable to aircraft delivery delays, caused in part by ongoing supply chain issues and exacerbated by Boeing's quality-control problems. IATA said there are now 1,583 aircraft deliveries scheduled for this year, 11% less than just a few months ago.
Delivery delays are impacting all airlines, Walsh said. And they're slowing the industry's environmental efforts, since carriers must keep older, less efficient aircraft in their fleet for longer than planned.
But for airlines, there's a bright side to delivery delays and supply chain issues, according to Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr. Unlike other periods when demand has been strong, airlines haven't undermined themselves by collectively bringing too much capacity to market.
"It's obviously not because we are becoming smarter, but just because we can't," Spohr said during a media briefing.
Still, he noted that Lufthansa Group airlines are losing out on revenue. Currently, approximately 100 of the groups 750 aircraft are grounded for various reasons, including shortages of engines.
IATA projects that North America will remain the most profitable region in the world for airline operators. North American carriers are projected to record a net profit of $14.8 billion this year with a 4.7% profit margin. European carriers will do second best, with a net profit of $8.6 billion, IATA estimates.