Financial Results: How the World’s Biggest Airlines Performed in 2020

Due to Corona’s impact, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years for airlines ever. Logically, only a few airlines managed to close the year with positive financial results. When going through the annual results of hundreds of airlines, we identified only four airlines with positive results (Check out the entire article about “4 Airlines That Made Profit in 2020“):

• Korean Air
• China Airlines
• Bamboo Airways
• Ethiopian Airlines

However, we also wanted to know how the big players performed. In that context, the question isn’t “did they make a loss,” but “how high was the loss?” Here’s what’s contained in this blog post:

Contents
U.S. Carriers With Highest Losses
IAG Reports Highest Losses in Europe
Negative Financial Results for Asia’s Top Airlines
Airlines’ Financial Results — The Complete Overview

U.S. Carriers With Highest Losses

U.S airlines seem to be among the airlines that return to pre-COVID traffic levels quickly. However, when looking at 2020’s financial results, the big U.S. carriers lead the list of top losers. American Airlines reported a record loss of almost USD 11.5 billion and therefore ranked first among the airlines with the highest losses. American’s big competitor United ranked 2nd with a loss of USD 8.8 billion. 

Compared to those record losses, other U.S. carriers achieved moderate results. For example, Alaska Airlines reported operating losses of USD 1.75 billion, similar to JetBlue’s 1.89 billion. 

Delta Air Lines managed an operating loss of USD 6.8 billion, and Southwest reported USD 4.23 billion.

IAG Reports Highest Losses in Europe

Compared to excessive operating losses of some U.S. carriers, most European airlines reported slightly better financial results. However, marginally better still means that all analyzed airlines reported multiple million and billions of negative financial results. 

Turkish Airlines performed best and are one of the rare bigger airlines with a negative financial result below the billion marks. Air France/KLM and the Lufthansa Group showed similar results with operating losses of USD 2.06 billion, respectively USD 2.58 billion. 

IAG, the holding company of British Airways, Iberia, and some other airlines, reported a record loss of USD 8.5 billion. Accordingly, IAG’s financial results turned out to be among the top 3 worst results (behind American Airlines and United Airlines).

Negative Financial Results for Asia’s Top Airlines

Besides Korean Air and Bamboo Airways, Asia’s airlines had to record negative financial results too. However, Korean Air managed to close the year with a positive financial result of USD 219 million. On the contrary, China’s “big three” closed 2020 with billions of losses. China Southern performed best with a loss of USD 1,86 billion, followed by Air China (2.48 billion) and China Eastern (2.58 billion). 

Outside of China, Japan Airlines (negatively) stands out with another record loss of USD 3.6 billion. Singapore’s flag carrier, Singapore Airlines, ended the year with an operating loss of USD 2.1 billion.

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Airlines’ Financial Results — The Complete Overview

Finally, here’s the complete of the presented airlines.

What’s Your Opinion?

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Data Sources
JetBlue, Lufthansa, Alaska Air, Turkish Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Southwest, China Southern, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines