European airline margin rankings 2024: Pegasus and IAG at the top; outlook for 2025 favourable

This report presents CAPA - Centre for Aviation's annual operating margin ranking for 16 of Europe's leading airline groups for 2024.

Pegasus Airlines, Türkiye's ultra-low cost airline, topped the ranking for the third year running, the best of four groups with a double digit operating margin (down from six groups in 2023). SAS again reported the lowest margin, one of two with an operating loss (whereas it had the only negative result in 2023).

The majority of the 16 groups (12 of them) had lower margins in 2024 than in 2023. However, on the whole, they outperformed other European airlines: 10 of them beat IATA's estimate of the average European airline margin in 2024.

The current expectation among forecasters is that European margins will improve a little in 2025 versus 2024, although the factors driving profits are complex - as ever - and a decline in margins is also a possibility.

Either way, Europe's largest airline groups are likely to continue to fare better than the sector as a whole.