The International Air Transport Association says 47 major carriers it monitors to assess the industry's financial health reported a net profit of $3.9 billion in the second quarter.

The results contrast with the $881 million net loss posted by carriers a year earlier.

IATA says airlines in North America and the Asia-Pacific region performed best.

The Geneva-based association says European carriers' results were boosted by a $1.3 billion asset sale in the second quarter, without which they would have posted further losses.

IATA said Monday that airlines benefited from stable fuel prices and slowly improving demand over the past months.