US airlines reported combined $1.6bn profit in 2022, official data show

US scheduled passenger airlines reported a combined 2022 after-tax net profit of $1.6bn, according to the government’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). The BTS said the carriers reported gains “after two consecutive annual after-tax losses” as well as a pre-tax operating profit of $7.9bn after two consecutive annual pre-tax losses. In 2021, the after-tax loss was $2.8bn and the pre-tax topped $17bn, the bureau said. Operating revenues for 2022 topped $211bn, with fares making up over 70% of the total, which came to about the same as gross domestic products of Romania or Peru. Around US$50bn of the reported $203bn