REPORT TRAVELMARKETREPORT ProducedbyResearch&Intelligence June2024 TravelMarketReport WelcometothelatesteditionoftheTravelMarketReport,broughttoyouby BCDTravel’sResearch&Intelligenceteam. Westartthisquarter’sTravelMarketReportwitharoundupofthelatestglobalairlineindustryoutlookfromtheInternationalAirTransportAssociation(IATA).Thisincludesasummaryofwhattoexpectinsixregions. AmericanAirlineshasrecentlyadjusteditsoutlookforthesecondquarterof2024.Weexplorehowitsfinancialperformanceoverthelast12monthshascomparedtoitsrivalsDeltaAirLinesandUnitedAirlines. Stickingwithairlines,moreappeartobestrikingbilateralpartnerships,includingneworexpandedcodesharearrangements.Guidedbyrecentexamples,wetrytounderstandwhatfactorsmaybedrivingthis. Turningtohotels,weuseanindexofaveragedailyratestounderstandhowroomratesaretrendingaroundtheworld. Finally,aspartofourprogramofregularlysurveyingbothtravelmanagers/buyersandbusinesstravelers,we’vetakentheopportunitytogetbothgroups’viewsontravelpolicy.Youcanlearnaboutsomeofthekeyfindings,beforedelvingintothedetailedreports,oncetheyarebothpublished. TheResearch&Intelligenceteam MikeEggleton Director,Research&Intelligence NataliaTretyakevich SeniorManager,Research&Intelligence MelinaSibaja TravelInsightsAnalyst Globalairlineindustryoutlook Outlookfor2024improves TheInternationalAirTransportAssociation(IATA)expectsairlineindustryrevenuetoreach$996billionin2024,upalmost10%year-over-year(YoY)andreachingthehighestnominalvalueinitshistory.Theprimarydriverofgrowthwillbeanincreaseintraffic,withglobalairlinepassengerrevenuesforecastedtoincreasebymorethan15%to$744billion. Globalairtravelshouldfinallyfullyrecoverin2024,withpassengersexpectedtonumberalmost5billion.Whileup10.4%YoYfrom4.45billion,thefigurewillalsobe9%higherthanin2019.Traffic(revenuepassengerkilometers-RPKs)shouldgrowataslightlyhigherpaceof11.6%,aspeopleincreasinglytakelongertrips.Thiswillhelpsupporta4.3%riseinaverageticketprices(ATPs)globally,althoughthiswillbemuchlowerthan2023’s15%increase. Sinceitspreviousforecast(December2023),IATAhasraisedbyalmostone-fifthbothitsglobalairlinenetprofitestimatefor2023anditsforecastfor2024.It’salsoincreasedfrom10.3%to Regionalprospectsfor2024 Africa–whiledemandforairAsiaPacific–2023’sslowerthantravelexists,it’sbeingheldbackhopedforreboundmeansairlinesbyhighcosts,whilegeopoliticalmayenjoyabiggerboosttoissueswillweighonairlineprofits.growthin2024fromthedelayed releaseofpent-updemandfor Europe–traveldemandwillinternationaltravel.remainstrong,butsupplychain issuesandtheriskoflaborLatinAmerica–someairlinesfacedisputesremainchallengestoconsiderablefinancialdifficulty, Europeanairlinefinances.reflectingtheregion’seconomic andsocialturmoil.MarketsinMiddleEast–significanttrafficCentralAmericawillbekeytogrowthsupportedastrongdrivinggrowth. financialperformanceamongthe region’sairlinesin2023.GulfhubNorthAmerica–solidconsumeroperationslocatedinanspendingandrobustairtraveleconomicallybuoyantregionofferdemandareexpectedtocontinueencouragingprospectsforairlinesunderpinningairlinefinances. in2024.Laborshortagesmayimpactsmallerregionalmarkets. 11.3%thepaceatwhichitexpectsprofitstogrowin2024. Between2020and2022,theworld’sairlineshadaccumulatedalmost$182billioninnetlosses;they’rescheduledtodelivertotalprofitsof$58billionforthe2023-2024period.It’scleartheystillhavealongwaytogotofullyoffsetthedamagedonebythepandemictotheirbottomlines.Butairlinesinsomeregionsaremakingbetterprogressthanotherselsewhere. In2024,airlinesinAfrica,AsiaPacificandLatinAmericamayonlyhavegeneratedsufficientprofitstooffset3-5%oftotallossesbuiltupduringthepandemic.EuropeanandMiddleEasterncarriersarelikelytohavemademuchmoreprogress,eatinginto40-50%oftheirpandemiclosses.Butit’sNorthAmericanairlinesthatareleadingthefinancialrecovery.Thisyear,IATAexpectsthemtohavebuiltupenoughprofitstomorethancovertotalpandemiclosses,puttingtheminasolidpositiongoingforward. Globalairlinenetincome US$billion Airlineprofitsasapercentageof pandemic-accumulatedlosses 40 -10 -60 -110 -160 20192020202120222023e2024f 120% 100% 80% 102.4% 60% 40% 20% 0% 53.9% 41.4% 5.4% 3.9% 3.5% AfricaAsiaEuropeLatinMiddleNorthPacificAmericaEastAmerica Source:IATA,June2024 U.S.airlineperformance AmericanAirlines’performancelagsitsrivals Weaker-than-expectedbookingspromptedAmericanAirlinestoloweritsoperatingmarginexpectationsforthesecondquarterof2024byone-percentagepointtoan8.5-10.5%range.Thisisabigreductiononlastyear’ssecondquarter,whentheairlineposteda15.4%margin.Inpart,American’sCEO,RobertIsom,blamedthedowngradeonsomeofthechangestheairlinehadmadeoverthelastyeartoitssalesanddistributionstrategy.Healsocitedaweaker-than-expecteddomesticpricingenvironmentcausedbyasupplyanddemandimbalance. Giventhisannouncement,it’sworthcomparingAmericanAirlines’financialperformanceoverthelastfourreportedquarterstothatofitsrivalsDeltaAirLinesandUnitedAirlines. ThebenefitsofAmerican’schangeddistributionstrategyareclear.Ithasreportedlowerunitsellingcostsyear-over-year(YoY)ineachofthelastfourquarters;somethingi