Would you consider 3rd world airlines as more or less profitable than the US based ones?
Well, that depends on what time frame you want to use. After 9-11, every major US Airline went bankrupt.
But in 2013, the Big 3 US Carriers (Delta, United and American) made HUGE money.
Delta alone netted about $2.7 Billion in 2013. That's a record for this industry...and still they can't tighten down an access panel.
I read that Malaysian is in financial trouble right now, so...? We know they don't pay for Sat com, but Delta only pays for it on our international fleet, not our domestic airplanes.