U.S. Airlines Report Second Quarter 2020 Losses

 

 

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a second-quarter 2020 after-tax net loss of $11.0 billion and a pre-tax operating loss of $16.2 billion.

 

These second-quarter losses are the second consecutive quarterly losses following 27 consecutive quarterly after-tax net profits and 35 consecutive quarterly pre-tax operating profits.

 

U.S. airline financial reports are filed quarterly with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for additional second-quarter 2020 (Tables 1-6) financial results.

 

Results for All 23 Scheduled U.S. Passenger Airlines

 

 

After-tax net income

• $11.0 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $5.2 billion loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $4.8 billion gain in 2Q 2019

 

Pre-tax operating profit

• $16.2 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $4.6 loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $6.9 billion profit in 2Q 2019

 

• Total 2Q 2020 operating revenue: $7.8 billion, of which:
  • $4.0 billion (50.9%) from fares
  • $221.2 million (2.8%) from baggage fees
  • $80.8 million (1.0%) from reservation change fees

 

• Total 2Q 2020 operating expenses: $24.1 billion
  • Fuel costs accounted for $1.2 billion, 4.8% of total operating expenses
  • Labor costs accounted for $11.3 billion, 46.9% of total operating expenses

 

Fees are included for calculations of net income, operating revenue and operating profit or loss.

 

Domestic operations, includes 23 U.S. airlines:

 

 

 

After-tax domestic net profit (net income)

• $8.9 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $4.1 billion loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $3.6 billion gain in 2Q 2019

 

Pre-tax domestic operating profit

• $14.1 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $3.8 billion loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $5.2 billion profit in 2Q 2019

 

• Total 2Q 2020 domestic operating revenue: $6.8 billion, of which:
  • $3.6 billion (54.0%) from fares
  • $201.7 million (3.0%) from baggage fees
  • $62.8 million (1.0%) from reservation change fees

 

• Total 2Q 2020 domestic operating expenses: $20.9 billion
  • Fuel costs accounted for $898.3 million, 4.3% of total domestic operating expenses
  • Labor costs accounted for $9.5 billion, 45.7% of total domestic operating expenses

 

International operations, includes 20 U.S. airlines:

 

 

 

After-tax international net profit (net income)

• $2.1 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $1.2 billion loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $1.2 billion gain in 2Q 2019

 

Pre-tax international operating profit

• $2.1 billion loss in 2Q 2020
• Down from $722 million loss in 1Q 2020
• Down from $1.6 billion profit in 2Q 2019

 

• Total 2Q 2020 international operating revenue: $1.1 billion, of which:
  • $340.1 million (31.3%) from fares
  • $19.5 million (1.8%) from baggage fees
  • $18.0 million (1.7%) from reservation change fees

 

• Total 2Q 2020 international operating expenses: $3.2 billion,
  • Fuel costs accounted for $253.8 million, 7.9% of international operating expenses
  • Labor costs accounted for $1.8 billion, 54.8% of international operating expenses

 

 

2nd Quarter Margins

 

Net margin is the net income or loss as a percentage of operating revenue. Operating margin is the operating profit or loss as a percentage of operating revenue.

 

Systemwide:

Net income margin:

• -140.8% in 2Q2020
• Down from 9.3% in 2Q 2019

 

Operating margin:

• -207.1% in 2Q2020
• Down from 13.4% in 2Q 2019

 

Domestic

Net income margin:

• -132.4% in 2Q2020
• Down from 9.2% in 2Q 2019

 

Operating margin:

• -208.9% in 2Q2020
• Down from 13.5% in 2Q 2020

 

International

Net income margin:

• -193.1% in 2Q2020
• Down from 9.6% in 2Q 2019

 

Operating margin:

• -196.1% in 2Q2020
• Down from 12.9% in 2Q 2019

 

 

Reporting notes

Additional data: BTS website, see tables for operating profit/loss, operating revenue and fuel cost and consumption. See the BTS financial databases for more detailed data including numbers for individual airlines.

 

Filing requirement: By regulation, for the quarter ending June 30, airlines that operate at least one aircraft that is designed/certified for more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers and cargo weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report financial data to BTS by Aug. 10. The airline filings are subject to a process of quality assurance and data validations before release to the public.

 

Data updates: Revised carrier data and late data filings will be made available monthly on TranStats on the Monday following the second Tuesday of the month. All data are subject to revision. BTS will release third-quarter 2020 data on Dec. 7.