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

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The ’s (IATA) new forecast is staggeringly worsee thanits $4.7 billion collective loss forecasg made just three months ago. The air carrietr trade group also downgraded its loss estimate for 2008to $10.4 billion from $8.5 billion. “There is no modernh precedent for today’s economic meltdown,” IATA Director Generapl and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in anews release. “Thwe ground has shifted. Our industry has been This is the most difficult situation that the industr yhas faced.” After the Sept. 11, 2001, terroe attacks on the United States, industry revenues fell by 7 Bisignani said, and took three years to rebound to pre-9/12 levels.
Revenues will fall to $448 billion in 2009 from $528 billion in 2008 (15 IATA said. Passenger yields will dip 7 percent. “This time we face a 15 percenf drop—a loss of revenues of $80 billion—im the middle of a global recession,” Bisignanui said during IATA’s annual industry summit. “Our future depends on a drastic reshaping by governmentsand industry. We cannot bear the cost of governmenr micro-regulation, crazy taxation and partners abusing their monopoly North American carriers will generally fair better thanforeigmn carriers, IATA said, and shoulr narrow their losses for the North American airlines will lose $1 billion in 2009, dramatically less than the $5.
1 billiom lost in 2008, as out-of-the-money fuel hedgexs lapse and capacity cuts kick in to right capacity with Previously, IATA said North American carriers would turn a modesg profit for the year. Asia-Pacific and European carriersw are likely to take thebiggesg hits, losing $3.3 billion and $1.8 respectively. Another heavily impacted sector, air cargo, will decline by 17 percentf based ontons shipped. Cargok yields will decline 11 percent.
Relaxesd fuel prices over the first five monthds of 2009 havehelped carriers, but prices have begun to climb in recent IATA projects the industry fuel bill to fall from $165 billioh in 2008 to $59 billion in 2009, on a $56 per barrelp average price of oil. “Thee risk that we have seen in recent weeks is that even the slightesgt glimmer of economic hope sendw oilprices higher,” Bisignani said. "Greed y speculation must not hold the globaoleconomy hostage. Failure to act by governments wouldbe irresponsible.” airlines are in a better cash with more liquidity than in past downturns. But, Bisignani warned “a long L-shaped recovery could draim the industryof cash.
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