Higher fuel costs to hurt airline profits
3 March 2011The International Air Transport Association trimmed its forecast for airlines’ net profits this year due to a surge in fuel costs, which is being exacerbated by the political unrest in the Middle East.
IATA, which represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international traffic, said Wednesday that it now expects carriers’ combined 2011 net profit of $8.6 billion, down from a previous forecast of $9.1 billion, on revenues of $594 billion.
The industry earned $16 billion in net profits last year as it rebounded from a withering downturn in the global economy that saw dozens of airlines world-wide go out of business.
source: wsj.com
