Giovanni Bisignani, Iata
Cointrin Airport, Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The world’s airlines are expected to lose $5.6 billion in 2010, nearly twice earlier forecasts of $3.8b. The losses will come on the heels of an “Annus Horribilis” in 2009 where losses will likely be $11b for the industry worldwide, IATA (International Air and Transport Association) announced Tuesday 15 December. Between 2000 and 2009 airlines lost $49.1b, a Decennis Horribilis, according to Giovanni Bisignani, the industry group’s director general and CEO.
Bisignani, at the group’s annual press conference in Geneva, pleaded for less government regulation and a more competitive environment to ensure that the industry does not suffer another decade with this level of losses. “Government regulation is keeping the airline industry financially crippled,” he noted. “It is 30 percent cheaper to fly today than a decade ago. This is a very competitive industry but governments still refuse to let airlines operate competititively.”
