SINGAPORE: From three years of losses during the pandemic to three consecutive years of record profits, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has made international headlines for the profit-sharing bonuses given to its employees, most recently 7.45 months’ worth.

SIA Group declared excellent financial results, with S$2.78 billion (US$2.14 billion) net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2025, boosted by a one-off S$1.1 billion gain from the divestment of stake in India-based Vistara. Emirates, a rival that is comparable in reputation to SIA, reported a record profit of US$5.77 billion

People may have come to think of healthy profits as routine in aviation. But that hasn’t typically been the case across the sector, according to management consultancy McKinsey.

In fact, the airline industry’s recent results and especially those reported by leading airlines such as SIA and Emirates have proven many analysts, including me, wrong.

Most had anticipated airlines to struggle post-COVID once everyone scratched their revenge travel itch. Among the factors was that video conferencing adopted during the pandemic would persist to the point of reducing business travel, a key contributor to full-service airlines’ profitability. That clearly hasn’t happened.

Also unanticipated were the robustness of the global economy post-pandemic and consumers’ willingness to continue paying top prices amid concerns about cost of living and inflation.

All these contributed to the increased yields (or the earnings for every available seat per kilometre travelled) enjoyed by carriers such as SIA compared to the pre-pandemic years.