Airline Payment Costs Reach $24.5 Billion in 2025
Airline payment costs reached $24.5 billion on sales of $1.05 trillion in 2025, a 10.4% increase that outpaced sales growth of 7.7%.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that airlines incurred payment costs of $24.5 billion on sales of $1.05 trillion in 2025.
Payment costs rose 10.4% compared to 2023, while sales grew by only 7.7%, meaning the cost of payment collection increased at a faster pace than revenue.
This equates to about $5 per passenger in transaction costs, which is higher than the association's forecast for net profit per passenger in 2026 of $4.50.
Card payments were the most expensive method at 2.53% per transaction, compared to an overall average of 1.97%.
What do these terms mean?
Payment costs: The fees paid by a company to process payments via cards, transfers, or other methods.
Transaction percentage: The percentage deducted from the value of each payment transaction for its processing.
Net profit per passenger: The remaining profit for the company after deducting costs, divided by the number of passengers.
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