Airline financial results remain positive despite rising fuel prices, UN agency says

Airline financial results remained positive in 2000, despite the fact that fuel prices rose by nearly two thirds on average over the previous year, according to new statistics released by the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The agency's preliminary estimates of the airline industry's 2000 revenue show that even with the soaring fuel prices, airlines achieved positive operating results in all regions except for Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

In 2000, the world's scheduled airlines as a whole experienced an operating profit of 3.3 per cent of operating revenues, compared with 4 per cent in 1999. Operating revenues for ICAO's 187 contracting States are tentatively estimated at $328,700 million for 2000, with expenses for the same period calculated to be approximately $317,700 million.

According to the new statistics, scheduled airlines carried 1,647 million passengers in 2000, compared with 1,562 million the previous year. Tonnes of freight carried were also up from 28.1 million in 1999 to 30.2 million in 2000.