 |
||
| Staff hand out folding chairs to passengers as they wait for information at Manchester Airport.[AFP] | ||
The commercial aviation industry, battered by plunging sales and fallout from the Icelandic ash cloud, is at last emerging from a steep downturn, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says.
"We are meeting as the industry continues its recovery from the global financial meltdown," IATA general director Giovanni Bisignani said ahead of its general assembly starting Monday.
The organisation represents 230 airlines that account for 93 percent of commercial air traffic.
The pace of the sector's recovery has been slowed by the eruption in April of an Icelandic volcano, which spread an ash cloud over Europe that brought commercial air travel to a standstill for a week.
IATA estimates that the global civil aviation industry lost 9.4 billion dollars (7.8 billion euros) last year, with Europe accounting for 3.8 billion dollars.
Industry analyst Christophe Menard of Bryan, Garnier and Co. said that "overall, the trend has been positive over the last months.
"We will incorporate signs of recovery starting in the second half of the year and ... should be at the top of the cycle in two years."
Results in the first quarter of the year improved, notably in Asia and North America, according to IATA.
At research group Oliver Wyman, analyst Olivier Fainsilber stressed that the economic recovery could prompt an increase in business travel and sales of flexible tickets at higher prices.
"This should be a fillip to generalist companies that have continued to offer a wide range of flight schedules during the crisis but without getting the benefit of sales of flexible tickets," he said.
kirstenum@ajnews.co.kr
[아주경제 ajnews.co.kr] 무단전재 배포금지
