All the more striking by the fact that it comes after
a decade of massive losses, the US airline industry
is riding a five-year wave of profitability.
IATA calculates 2014 net income of North America airlines,
fueled largely by US airline performance, at more than $12
billion—fully two-thirds of the projected net income for the
entire global airline industry. And the region’s airline profitability
is expected to increase an additional $1 billion in 2015 as
lower fuel expenses provide a further boost in earnings.
The reemergence of US airlines from the so-called “lost
decade” required significant restructuring. Airlines undertook
several tactics, including mergers and acquisitions, fleet
and network rationalization, capacity discipline, and a