Do airlines make more money from passengers or cargo?

Cargo airlines tend to make higher profits for dollars invested. Passenger airlines tend to make more money on cargo but since they fly mostly passengers, passengers provide more of an airlines profit.



For the vast majority of commercial airlines in 2026, passenger revenue far outweighs cargo revenue. According to IATA's 2026 forecast, the global airline industry expects roughly $751 billion from passenger transport compared to $158 billion from cargo. While cargo was a lifeline during the pandemic years, the return of massive international passenger demand has restored the traditional balance where passengers account for about 70-75% of total revenue. However, cargo remains a high-margin "hidden" profit center; many long-haul flights only become profitable because of the "belly cargo" carried beneath the passengers' feet. Only dedicated freighter airlines (like FedEx or UPS) or specific carriers in heavily industrial hubs see cargo revenues that rival their passenger operations.

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Most importantly, cargo pays well. It represents between 15%-20% of the average airline's earnings. Though that may not seem a lot, once a flight covers its costs with passenger capacity, any income from cargo goes to profits.

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Cargo was the darling of the airline industry when passenger business cratered during the pandemic and planes were repurposed for cargo to meet demand for goods movement while supply chains were broken. Now cargo's share of total industry revenue has pulled back from the high of 40% in 2021 to 18% in 2023.

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Airlines are in business to make money and even though they may be on the receiving end of government bailouts from time to time, the bulk of their revenue comes from travelers. Aside from the cost of tickets themselves, airlines can also collect fees from passengers that help to add to their profit margins.

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Cost. Ocean freight tends to be 12 to 16 times cheaper than air freight since it utilizes large-scale vessels that can transport larger loads for greater distances for less expense. Air cargo, on the other hand, is typically more expensive due to higher fuel costs and the need for faster delivery times.

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As you would expect, there is usually a premium on airside space over landside space and on the office portion of a cargo building. In addition, airports often take in other rents and fees for cargo activity besides monthly rents on buildings, such as on fuel flowage, ramp parking, and revenue percentages.

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Airlines will fly more than 4.5 billion passengers this year to generate that $28 billion. That's an average of just over $6 of profit a passenger.

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Delta Air Lines is the largest by revenue, assets value and market capitalization. American Airlines Group is the largest by number of employees.

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You'll find that while airline and cargo pilot requirements and career prospects seem very similar, a cargo pilot salary tends to run lower than that of an airline pilot.

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How Much Do Pilots Make an Hour? » According to The May 2021 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for commercial pilots is $99,640 per year. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $202,180.

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In 2022, airline net losses are expected to be $6.9 billion (an improvement on the $9.7 billion loss for 2022 in IATA's June outlook). This is significantly better than losses of $42.0 billion and $137.7 billion that were realized in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

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Annual Pilot Salary Range How Much Do Pilots Make an Hour? » According to The May 2021 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for commercial pilots is $99,640 per year. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $202,180.

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Based on 450 annual owner-operated hours and $6.00-per-gallon fuel cost, the BOEING 737-700 has total variable costs of $2,996,910.00, total fixed costs of $357,370.00, and an annual budget of $3,354,280.00. This breaks down to $7,453.96 per hour.

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As of April 15, 2021, Jet Fuel A was priced at an average of $4.81 per gallon in the United States. If you multiply that by the typical tank size of a commercial aircraft (3,500 gallons), filling up your plane with Jet A fuel may cost you somewhere around $16,835 in total.

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Aeronautical revenue comprises the majority of airport income, and includes airline terminal space rentals, airline landing fees, and usage fees for terminals, gates, services and passenger counts.

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Therefore, the greater the number of flights, the higher the profitability. This is because airports generate revenue through various sources, such as landing fees, terminal fees, and passenger charges.

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The company makes money from charging landing fees and departing passenger levies to airlines, and from ancillary operations within those airports such as retail, car parking and property.

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