mckinsey -航班运营的经济分析 The economics of an airline flight

February2026

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TravelPractice

Theeconomicsofanairlineflight

Haveyoueverconsideredexactlyhowmuchmoneyanairlinemakesfromasingleflight?

bySteveSaxonandJaapBouwer

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Haveyouevertakenyourairplaneseat,lookedaround,andwonderedexactlyhowmuchmoneytheairlineismakingfromyourflight?

McKinsey’sSteveSaxonandJaapBouweranalyzeahypotheticalone-wayflightfromLondontoNewYorkCity,layingoutthesourcesofcostsandrevenuesfortheairline.Adetailedchartbreaksoutthoseprecisecostandrevenuedrivers.

Nexttimeyoufly,you’llhaveabetterunderstandingofairlineeconomics—andmaybehavesomethinginterestingtochataboutwithyourseatmate.

Exhibit

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SteveSaxon:Haveyouevertakenyourseatonanairplane,lookedaroundyou,andwondered,“Istheairlineactuallymakinganymoney?”

We’lltakeonehypotheticalflightandlookattherevenuesandthecosts.Thenexttimeyou’retaxiingtowardtakeoff,youmayhaveawholenewviewonthebusinessofflying.

JaapBouwer:We’llstartwiththerevenuesideoftheledger.

SteveSaxon:We’llbeflyingfromLondontoNewYorkonaBoeing787.That’satypicalaircraftforthisflight.

JaapBouwer:Ineconomyclass,wemayhave192seats.If90percentofthemarefilled,thatwouldyield173passengers.

SteveSaxon:Basedonsomechecksofavailableprices,around-tripfarecomesouttobe

about$800forsuchatrip.Thisisone-way,sowe’lltakehalfofthat,or$400perpassenger.

JaapBouwer:173passengerstimes$400equalsabout$69,000inrevenue.

SteveSaxon:Butthat’snottheonlycabinonboardthisaircraft.Youmighthavesprungforpremiumeconomyclassorbusinessclass,forexample.

JaapBouwer:Thirty-fivepremiumeconomyseats75percentfilled,that’s26passengersinpremiumeconomy.

Premiumeconomyround-tripfaremightbe$2,000onaverageforthistypeofflight,sothatmeans$1,000one-way.Thatcomesoutto$26,000inrevenuefrompremiumeconomy.

Inbusinessclass,theremaybe31seats.Ifweassumethey’re70percentfull,thatmeans22

passengers.Averagebusinessfareswillbehigher.Maybeit’saround$6,000roundtripforthiskindofflight.Sothatmeans$3,000oneway.

SteveSaxon:Solet’sadditallup.Theairlinegetsabout$160,000inticketrevenueonthisflight.

Butwhatotherwaysdoesthisflightmakemoney?

Let’stalkaboutancillaries,thingsthattheairlinesellsbeyondtheticket.Forexample,maybeyoucheckedabag,ormaybeyoupaidforyourseatselection,ormaybeyouboughtsomething[duringtheflight],ormaybethecreditcardyouusedboughtsomepointsfromtheairline.

JaapBouwer:Ancillarieswillaverageroughly$30perpassenger.Thereare221passengersonboard,sothat’sabout$6,600inrevenue.

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SteveSaxon:There’sanotherrevenuesourceyoumightnotthinkofasanairlinepassenger.Let’stalkaboutcargo.

JaapBouwer:Roughlyhalftheworld’sairfreightiscarriedinthebelliesofpassengeraircraft.Anaircraftlikethiswillhaveroughlytenmetrictonsofcapacityavailableforaircargo.Ifwe

assumethat50percentisfilled,thatmeansfivemetrictonsofcargo.

SteveSaxon:Cargopricesvary.Let’sassume$1.40perkiloforcargorevenue.Thatwouldgiveusatotalof$7,000incargorevenuefortheflight.

Nowlet’stotalupalltherevenue.Theairline’sbringinginabout$174,000forthisflight.

Soundslikeadecenthaul,butthestorydoesn’tendthere.Let’slookattheothersideoftheledger.

JaapBouwer:Let’sthinkaboutthecosttheairlineincurswhenitfliesyoufromplacetoplace.

SteveSaxon:Anaircraftsuchasthe787canbeleasedorowned.Let’sassumeit’sleased.Aleaserateforanaircraftlikethisisaround$1.3millionpermonth.Weneedtofigureouthowmuchthatisperhour,andthereforehowmuchforthisflight.

JaapBouwer:Thistypeofaircraftmightfly14hoursperday,sothatmeansaround5,000hoursperyear.Ifyoudothemath,that’s$3,150perhour.

SteveSaxon:Thisplanewillbeinoperationforabouteighthours,whichgivesusatotalofabout$25,000forleasingcost.

JaapBouwer:Theairlineneedstopaytheflightattendants.

SteveSaxon:Aflightlikeourswillhavearoundeightflightattendantsonboard.Typicalsalaryandbenefitsforaflightattendantcouldbe$70,000peryear.

JaapBouwer:Cabincrewmayflyabout60hourspermonth,meaning720hoursperyear,andtherefore,$97perhour.

Thisflighttakeseighthours.Thereareeightcrewonboard,sothere’s$6,200incabincrewcost.

SteveSaxon:Butflightattendantsaren’ttheonlycrew;someoneneedstoflytheplane.

JaapBouwer:Aflightlikethiswillhavetwopilotsinthecockpit.Let’sassume$270,000insalary,training,andbenefitscost.

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SteveSaxon:Foraneight-hourflightwithtwopilotsonboard,totalpilotcostisaround$6,000.

Therearesomepassenger-relatedcosts,suchasamenities,catering,andin-flightentertainment.

JaapBouwer:Thesecanvarybylengthofhaulandcabinofservice,butlet’sassumethecost[forthisflight]is$4,400.

SteveSaxon:Theseare[amenities]youcanseefromyourseat,andwe’reuptoalmost$42,000incosts.Whataboutthingsthatarehardertosee?

Youknowwhatit’sliketofillupyourcaratthepumpormaybepluginyourEV[electricvehicle],butwhatdoesanairlinespendonjetfuel?

JaapBouwer:Anaircraftlikethiswillburnabout2,900gallonsoffuelperhour.Thereareeighthoursinthisflight,sothatmeansabout23,000gallonsofjetfuelburned.

Jetfuelpricesvary.Ifweassumeacurrentjetfuelpriceofaround$2.20pergallon,thatmeansalmost$51,000infuelcosts—thelargestsinglecostitemfortheairline.

SteveSaxon:Theairlineneedstomakesuretheaircraftisintip-topshape.

JaapBouwer:Anaircraftlikethismayhavemaintenancecostsonaverageof$1,300perhour.Foraneight-hourflight,thatmeansabout$10,000inmaintenancecosts.

SteveSaxon:Airtrafficcontrolchargesdependonthedistanceflown,thetakeoffweightoftheaircraft,andwhichcountriesareoverflown.Forthisflight,let’sassumeanairtrafficcontrol

chargeof$2,000.

Sofarwe’vebeentalkingaboutthecostsneededtokeeptheplaneintheairandthepassengershappy,butwhataboutthecostsontheground?

JaapBouwer:Toaccessairportsateitherendofthejourney,airportchargesneedtobepaid.

SteveSaxon:Yes,airlinesneedtopayairportcostsoneachsideoftheflight.LondonandNewYorkareparticularlyexpensive,andwemightexpect$35,000forthisflight.

JaapBouwer:Groundhandlingchargesareforcheckinginpassengersandtheirbags,handling[theboardinganddisembarkingramp]fortheaircraft,unloadingcargo,andsoforth.Wecan

expectabout$3,000forthisflight.

SteveSaxon:Marketingandsalescostscanincludeadvertising,promotion,andcommissionspaidtotravelagents.

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JaapBouwer:Let’sassumemarketingandsalescostsareabout$15perpassenger.With221passengersonboardthat’sabout$3,300incost.

Thenthereareoverheadcostsforthingsliketheairline’scorporateofficebuilding,orthestaffthatworksthere.

SteveSaxon:Wecanassumeabout$30perpassengerforthat,whichwouldgiveusatotalof$6,600overhead.

JaapBouwer:Additallup,andthetotalcostsforoperatingthissingleflightareabout$153,000.

Let’sputittogether.Wecansubtracttheoperatingcostfromtherevenuetoseehowmuchtheairlinemadefromthisflight.

SteveSaxon:Wehave$174,000inrevenueand$153,000incost.

JaapBouwer:Wesubtractcostfromrevenue.Sothatgivesusanoperatingprofitof$21,000,orroughly12%.

SteveSaxon:Thatsoundslikeagoodmargin.Butit’sabitmorecomplicatedthanthat.Theaverageairlineindustrymarginisonlyaround3percentto6percent.

JaapBouwer:Whywasourmarginhigher?

SteveSaxon:First,wechoseahealthyroute.LotsofpeoplewanttoflybetweenLondonandNewYork.

Andthey’rewillingtopayforit.TheLondontoNewYorkrouteisoneofthemostpremiumintermsofbusinesspassengers.

Ifwepickedalesshealthyroute,thingsmightlookdifferent.

JaapBouwer:Furthermore,somepassengersmaybeconnectingpassengers.Connecting-passengeryieldsaretypically20to30percentlowerthanpoint-to-pointpassengers.

SteveSaxon:Onthecostside,maybetheairline’susingsustainableaviationfuel,whichismoreexpensive.Ormaybetheflightwasdelayed,whichwouldtriggeradditionalcharges.

JaapBouwer:Thisisaroughexample,andweleftafewthingsout.Butasyoulookattherevenueandcostdrivers,youstarttogetabetterfeelofhowtheairlineindustryworks.

SteveSaxon:Maybeyoucanseewhyairlinesareattheedgeofprofitability.They’reonthinmargins,andit’seasyforthingstochangeandgowrongquickly.

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