The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said recently that during 2015, U.S. passenger airlines reported a profit of $25.6 billion after taxes, up from $7.5 billion in 2014.
Operating revenue for the year totaled $168.9 billion, 75 percent of which came from fares.
Costs associated with all operations were reported at $140.9 billion, with labor costs making up $45.4 billion and fuel making up $27 billion.
The BTS also said the airlines reported $28 billion in pre-tax operating profits. In 2014, pre-tax profits were reported at $14.6 billion.
For the fourth quarter of 2015, there was a net profit of $7.7 billion for U.S. passenger airlines, down from $9.3 billion in the previous quarter.
