Oh, you mean post-covid? 

No clue, I was just remarking on the 2010s. 

Same (nominal?) profits now, so perhaps something else is afoot

Why are they still so profitable, if it’s about fuel prices and interest rates?

I get that they might be coasting along on yesteryear’s financing but they’re getting hammered at the pump just like the rest of us.

Undisciplined

Look at that note: "Pre-COVID years (2010-2019) were the best phase, historically, for the airline industry's profit pools".

Money was free for a decade and oil prices remarkably 

. You're telling me it's astonishing that an industry with razor-thin margins that

a) is very, very capital-intensive (large upfront investments, financing matters like crazy)

b) is directly dependent on fuel prices for its profitability

was mighty profitable in the 2010s-2019 era

While 34 of the airlines in our sample were full-service carriers, the others were low-cost carriers. [...] In terms of business models,

the low-cost airlines underperformed the full-service carriers, on average, but the top-performing low-cost airlines are among the best in the aviation industry.

 Indeed, the low-cost carriers’ higher valuation multiples reflected their greater profitability, earnings predictability, and potential for growth.

Aviation’s top performers—such as Delta, Ryanair, and United—have 

displayed considerable balance sheet discipline while meeting the industry’s structural challenges.

 In fact, balance sheet quality was the biggest difference among the leaders and followers in our study, explaining 75% of the former’s outperformance as measured by TSR

Odd af that they didn't discuss loyalty/shitcoin programs... that's what I came for and, we learned in the plandemic, is the only place of financial value in an airline's operation.

Stacker_Stocks

econ

oh, *here's* a graph for us to ponder today:
matters

![](https://m.stacker.news/154433)

Look at that note: "Pre-COVID years (2010-2019) were the best phase, historically, for the airline industry's profit pools".

## Knock me over with a feather

Money was free for a decade and oil prices remarkably *low* for about [half of that time](https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart). You're telling me it's astonishing that an industry with razor-thin margins that
a) is very, very capital-intensive (large upfront investments, financing matters like crazy)
b) is directly dependent on fuel prices for its profitability

*was mighty profitable in the 2010s-2019 era* when money was free and oil was cheap?

Crazy.

***

Interesting **barbell strategy:** you can succeed at the high end *or* at the low end:

> While 34 of the airlines in our sample were full-service carriers, the others were low-cost carriers. \[...] In terms of business models,**the low-cost airlines underperformed the full-service carriers, on average, but the top-performing low-cost airlines are among the best in the aviation industry.** Indeed, the low-cost carriers’ higher valuation multiples reflected their greater profitability, earnings predictability, and potential for growth.

> Aviation’s top performers—such as Delta, Ryanair, and United—have **displayed considerable balance sheet discipline while meeting the industry’s structural challenges.** In fact, balance sheet quality was the biggest difference among the leaders and followers in our study, explaining 75% of the former’s outperformance as measured by TSR

Except, uh... *don't mention the plandemic!*

***

Odd af that they didn't discuss loyalty/shitcoin programs... that's what I came for and, we learned in the plandemic, is the only place of financial value in an airline's operation.