IATA estimates that the global airline industry will generate roughly USD 41 billion in net profit in 2026. Spread across an anticipated 5.2 billion passengers, that works out to only a few dollars per ticket in actual profit. It is a tiny return for a business that keeps people, goods and tourism flowing around the world, especially when compared with the sort of margins that large consumer technology companies enjoy.

Walsh has been blunt about how little airlines keep after costs. He argues that industry level margins remain meagre when set against the wider economic value created by air travel. Airlines connect labour markets, enable trade and support entire tourism-dependent economies, yet many of them are still one shock away from slipping back into losses.

The stark comparison to a

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