The world's airlines should post a combined profit in 2011 the head of airline industry body IATA said on Wednesday.
A shortfall in global air carriers' revenues from their peak in 2008 should be made up within two years, IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani told a news conference at the FIDAE air industry fair.
"With a loss of USD$2.8 billion this year, I think we can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that we will be back in the black in 2011," Bisignani said. He said the body would issue its forecast of 2011 industry results in June.
A gap of nearly USD$80 billion in annual revenues lost since a 2008 peak would be made up within two years, he said.
IATA forecasts industry revenues of USD$522 billion for 2010, which is still USD$42 billion shy of 2008 levels.
"We have an (expected) improvement this year of USD$43 billion (over 2009 levels), so we suppose that in two years we will recover the loss," Bisignani said.
He expects airlines in North America to post a combined loss of about USD$1.8 billion in 2010, and sees European airlines losing a total of USD$2.2 billion.
However, Latin American airlines will post a combined profit of about USD$800 million this year, he forecast. Bisignani expects air traffic demand in Latin America to rise 12.2 percent in 2010 from 2009 levels.
