Global airlines are likely to lose $9 billion this year, the International Air Transport Association said on Monday, nearly double its estimate of just three months ago, as rising fuel prices and weak demand create an unprecedented crisis for the industry.
This is the most difficult situation the industry has faced," Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO, told the aviation body's annual meeting in the Malaysian capital.
IATA had predicted in March that 2009 losses for the airline industry would total $4.7 billion. It has also revised its estimate of 2008 losses to $10.4 billion from $8.5 billion.
In an effort to ride out the crisis, made worse by the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, airlines have been looking to cut costs everywhere they can.
