IATA: Global airlines to lose $9B in 2009 - Wichita Business Journal:

epukaq.wordpress.com
The ’s (IATA) new forecast is staggeringly worse thanits $4.7 billion collective loss forecast made just three months ago. The air carrier trads group also downgraded its loss estimat for 2008to $10.4 billion from $8.5 billion. “Theres is no modern precedent for today’s economid meltdown,” IATA Director Generak and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in anews release. “Thse ground has shifted. Our industry has been This is the most difficult situation that the industryhhas faced.” After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorf attacks on the United States, industry revenuesw fell by 7 Bisignani said, and took three years to rebound to pre-9/11 levels.
Revenues will fall to $448 billion in 2009 from $528 billiom in 2008 (15 percent), IATA said. Passenger yieldsd will dip 7 percent. “This time we face a 15 percenyt drop—a loss of revenues of $80 billion—ihn the middle of a globapl recession,” Bisignani said during IATA’s annuaol industry summit. “Our future dependzs on a drastic reshapin gby partners, governments and We cannot bear the cost of government crazy taxation and partners abusing theie monopoly power.” North American carriers will generallt fair better than foreigj carriers, IATA said, and shouldr narrow their losses for the year.
North American airlinese will lose $1 billion in 2009, dramaticallgy less than the $5.1 billion lost in 2008, as out-of-the-moneyu fuel hedges lapse and capacity cuts kick in to righyt capacitywith demand. Previously, IATA said North American carriersd would turn a modest profit forthe Asia-Pacific and European carriers are likely to take the bigges t hits, losing $3.3 billion and $1.8 respectively. Another heavily impacted air cargo, will decline by 17 percentt based ontons shipped.
Cargo yields will decline 11 Relaxed fuel prices over the firsg five months of 2009 have helped but prices have begun to climb in recent IATA projects the industry fuel bill to fallfrom $165 billiohn in 2008 to $59 billion in 2009, on a $56 per barrell average price of oil. “Thre risk that we have seen in recent weeks is that even the slightes glimmer of economic hope sends oilprices higher,” Bisignanki said. "Greedy speculation must not hold the global economy Failure to act by governments wouldbe irresponsible.
” airlines are in a better cash with more liquidity than in past But, Bisignani warned “a long L-shaped recovery could drain the industry of cash.” Bisignani noted industry consolidation, such as the mergere between Atlanta-based (NYSE: DAL) and , that have made some playerx stronger. But he railed against what he caller “archaic limitations on ownership” that prevengt the merging of carriers fromdifferent