IATA says that it still expect’s the world’s airline industry to record a collective profit of US$3 billion this year, despite pressure from the Eurozone economic crisis.
“The $3.0 billion industry profit forecast has not changed. But almost everything in the equation has,” said IATA CEO and director general Tony Tyler. “Demand has been better than expected, so far this year. And fuel prices are now lower than previously anticipated, but that’s on the expectation of economic weakness ahead. The Eurozone crisis is standing in the way of improved profitability and we continue to face the prospect of a net profit margin of just 0.5 per cent.”
Profits from airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to contribute $2.0 billion to the collective result, despite being revised down by $300 million on the previous forecast. North America is forecast to contribute $1.4 billion to the profit result as yields in the market have improved due to capacity management.
Those profits will be expected offset by a forecast $1.1 billion loss from European carriers as the Eurozone crisis spreads through the year.
