Doug Parker, the carrier’s chief executive, told analysts that the cyclical nature of the airline industry meant there would still be bad years in the future, but these bad years would not see carriers plunge many millions of dollars into the red, as in the past.

The US now has five major carriers: American, Delta, United, Southwest and JetBlue, which are in good financial health following a decade of mergers and, in the case of the big three, substantial restructuring.

The absence of any major new players in the past 15 years has also kept capacity steady. Oil prices have been another factor – they are now hovering around the $50 mark after dropping to around $35 a barrel in February. They were around $60 a year ago, with the forecast being for them to stay at the $55 mark, well under the $100 point that carriers became used to in the 2011-14 period.

Parker said that after a series of mergers, major airlines had become “rational competitors intent on earning returns for shareholders” by refusing to become locked in market-share battles or serve unprofitable routes.

Parker’s prediction followed Iata’s upgrading of its global industry profits forecast. The association now says that the world’s airlines will make $39.4 billion this year, $3 billion
more than it forecast in December.

The association added: “Over half of the industry profits will be generated in North America ($22.9 billion)”. Iata points to ancillary sales and higher load factors “well above break-even levels” as being major influences in the profitability upturn.

The optimism comes despite the share prices of the five big US carriers falling to their lowest levels since 2014. The Florida shootings have led to nervousness about travel, analysts believe, while the threat of Brexit is thought to have caused some business travellers to postpone trips to Europe.