Dear Colleagues,
It was a pleasure to see many of you in person at the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in India. I am excited to share that the 82nd edition of IATA's AGM will be coming to our region next year as it will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the support of host airline LATAM Airlines Group. All AGM related materials, presentations and videos can be accessed at the event website.
Alongside the AGM, I had the pleasure of addressing numerous questions from regional and global journalists about the status of air transport in the Americas during our regional media briefing. I emphasized that for the region to deliver safe, efficient, and affordable air transport, we need:
- Regulation that follows global best practices
- Fairer taxation
- Better infrastructure
- Stronger partnerships
IATA also released its latest industry financial outlook. Here are the key highlights from the expected 2025 financial performance:
- Net profits: $36.0 billion
- Net profit margin: 3.7%
- Return on invested capital: 6.7%
- Operating profits: $66.0 billion
- Total revenues: $979 billion
- Total expenses: $913 billion
- Total traveler numbers: 4.99 billion
- Total air cargo volumes: 69 million tonnes
From our region's perspective, North America will generate the highest absolute profit among the regions even as it is expected to be affected by a slowdown in the US economy, with increased tariffs likely to erode both consumer and business sentiment, dampening consumption and investment. The persistent shortage of pilots and engine reliability problems, particularly in the low-cost sector, will limit growth in the region.
Airlines in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be impacted by weak domestic currencies as major cost items, such as fleet expenses and debt servicing, are paid in US dollars. Argentina’s signing of open skies agreements with a number of countries is positive and will enhance connectivity and competition for the benefit of airlines and passengers. However, the proposed 26.5% VAT on tickets in Brazil could have a significant impact on the market. Unfortunately, Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region to see profitability decrease compared with 2024.
You can access the detailed global outlook here as well as all key industry statistics here.
As usual, please find below the latest IATA activities across the Americas and please let me know if you have any questions or ideas for follow up.
Thank you for your on-going support.
Peter Cerdá
IATA’s Regional Vice President, The Americas
Americas Focus: Archive
2025: 01-2025 (pdf) 02-2025 (pdf) 03-2025 (pdf) 04-2025 (pdf) 05-2025 (pdf)
2024: 01-2024 (pdf) 02-2024 (pdf) 03-2024 (pdf) 04-2024 (pdf) 05-2024 (pdf) 06-2024 (pdf) 07-2024 (pdf) 08-2024 (pdf) 09-2024 (pdf)
2023: 01-2023 (pdf) 02-2023 (pdf) 03-2023 (pdf) 04-2023 (pdf) 05-2023 (pdf) 06-2023 (pdf) 07-2023 (pdf) 08-2023 (pdf)
2022: 01-2022 (pdf) 02-2022 (pdf) 03-22 (pdf) 04-22 (pdf) 05-22 (pdf) 06-22 (pdf)
2021: 01-2021 (pdf) 02-2021 (pdf) 03-2021 (pdf) 04-2021 (pdf) 05-2021 (pdf) 06-2021 (pdf) 07-2021 (pdf)
2020: 01-2020 (pdf) 02-2020 (pdf) 03-2020 (pdf)
2019: Jan 2019 (pdf) Feb 2019 (pdf) May 2019 (pdf) #04 Version (pdf) #05 Version (pdf) #06 Version (pdf)
2018: Jan 2018 (pdf) Feb 2018 (pdf) Mar 2018 (pdf) Apr 2018 (pdf) May 2018 (pdf) Jun 2018 (pdf)
Jul 2018 (pdf) Aug-Sep 2018 (pdf) Oct-Nov 2018 (pdf) Summary 2018 (pdf)
2017: Q4 2017 (pdf) Q3 2017 (pdf) Q2 2017 (pdf) Q1 2017 (pdf)