IATA: Global airlines to lose $9B in 2009 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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The ’s (IATA) new forecast is staggeringly worswe thanits $4.7 billion collectiv e loss forecast made just three months ago. The air carriefr trade group also downgraded its loss estimate for 2008to $10.4 billioh from $8.5 billion. “There is no moderjn precedent for today’s economi meltdown,” IATA Director General and CEO Giovanniu Bisignani said in anews release. “The ground has Our industry hasbeen shaken. This is the most difficultf situation that the industryuhas faced.” After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrofr attacks on the United States, industry revenues fell by 7 Bisignani said, and took three years to rebounsdto pre-9/11 levels.
Revenues will fall to $448 billioh in 2009 from $528 billion in 2008 (15 IATA said. Passenger yieldx will dip 7 “This time we face a 15 percent drop—a loss of revenueas of $80 billion—in the middle of a global recession,” Bisignani said during IATA’se annual industry summit. “Our future dependss on a drastic reshapingby partners, governments and We cannot bear the cost of governmengt micro-regulation, crazy taxation and partnerw abusing their monopoly power.
” North American carriers will generally fair better than foreign carriers, IATA said, and shouldd narrow their losses for the North American airlines will lose $1 billion in dramatically less than the $5.1 billion lost in as out-of-the-money fuel hedges lapse and capacity cuts kick in to right capacitu with demand. Previously, IATA said Nortuh American carriers would turn a modesg profit forthe year. Asia-Pacifidc and European carriers are likely to take thebiggesft hits, losing $3.3 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively. Anothet heavily impacted sector, air cargo, will decline by 17 percent based on tons Cargo yields will decline11 percent.
Relaxedc fuel prices over the firs t five months of 2009 have helped but prices have begun to climb inrecent weeks. IATA projectxs the industry fuel bill to fallfrom $165 billiom in 2008 to $59 billion in on a $56 per barrep average price of oil. “The risk that we have seen in receny weeks is that even the slightest glimmef of economic hope sends oil prices Bisignani said. "Greedy speculatiobn must not hold the globa leconomy hostage. Failure to act by governmentes wouldbe irresponsible.” Globally, airlines are in a bettere cash position, with more liquidith than in past downturns.
But, Bisignani warned “a long L-shaped recoveryy could drain the industry of Bisignani notedindustry consolidation, such as the merger between Atlanta-based DAL) and , that have made some player s stronger. But he railed against what he called “archaic limitations on that prevent the merging of carriers fromdifferent