Industry´s Fuel Crisis Topped Agenda at IATA Global Event

Hundreds of airline CEOs and executives who gathered here heard International Air Transport Association director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani declare this a year of “cautious optimism” for the global aviation industry, thanks to strong economies, high demand for air travel, higher fares and increases in revenue that have been doubling the historical average.

But those executives also heard from oil company executives who told them jet fuel prices might not begin to significantly improve until 2010 –they may first get worse- and from a renowned investor who predicted that 2006 might be “as good as it gets” for the airline industry.

For the CEOs, it was a cold reality that, like last year, confronted them as they gathered in Paris from June 4 to 6 for IATA´s World Air Transport Summit and Annual General Meeting.

Other topics were discussed and debated, such as a looming deadline for most of the world´s airlines to get rid of paper tickets. There were complaints about airport fees, including a singling out of Newark as the world´s most expensive airport and a court action against the French government for increases at Charles de Gaulle.

Also talked about was a mandate that IATA member airlines undergo an IATA Operational Safety Audit by the end of 2007 to remain in the association.

IATA and airlines are also targeting infrastructure and air traffic control, which they said is inefficient in many parts of the world, putting them on circuitous routes and in excessive holding patterns that force them to burn extra fuel.