Passenger yield of airlines worldwide 2005-2023

Although the global commercial air travel industry is booming, passenger yields have consistently declined over the past years. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the overall negative trend since the global aviation industry was one of the most affected sectors worldwide. In 2021, commercial airlines registered the first positive passenger yield growth of 3.8 percent in the last decade. This figure is expected to remain positive in 2022 before declining again in 2023.

Passenger yield

Airline passenger yield is generally expressed as the number of cents (or equivalent) earned for each passenger mile or kilometer flown. It is calculated by dividing the revenue generated from passengers by the number of revenue passenger miles, which in turn are calculated by multiplying the number of passengers on a flight by the number of miles flown by the aircraft. At least in the U.S. market, full-service and low-cost carriers report similar passenger yields, while ultra-low cost airlines reported far lower yields.