News: Airline sector will take years to recover following recession

Flights > News > # 2405 (03/02/2010)

The head of the world’s biggest aviation trade body has said the airline industry will take at least three years to recover following the global financial crisis.
Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the airline industry globally lost $50 billion (£31 billion) in the past ten years, with $11 billion (£7 billion) in 2009 alone. He added that revenues declined by $80 billion (£50 billion) last year.
The global travel slump has pushed carriers including Singapore Airlines and British Airways into losses and forced Japan Airlines to file for bankruptcy.
Traffic dropped 3.5% last year, with declines exceeding 5% in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region, said IATA, which represents 230 carriers. 34 airlines have gone bust since 2008, according to IATA figures.
Passenger yield, or the average price a traveller pays to fly one kilometre, will remain “flat” this year and increase only next year, Bisignani said.