Airlines
Cautious Optimism Prevails at IATA AGM
Despite big profits, Tyler sees ‘upside’ for airlines

Speaking Thursday on the second day of the International Air Transport Association’s annual general meeting in Dublin, outgoing IATA director general Tony Tyler issued a somewhat mixed message about the state of an industry expecting to turn a net profit of $39.4 billion this year, marking the second year in a row airlines make an aggregate return in excess of the cost of capital. Although he called the performance a significant achievement after decades of “capital destruction,” he also characterized it as the bare minimum of what investors expect.