airline losses hit 800 million

Losses of airline companies hit $800M in Q4, says IATA report

LOSSES OF airlines around the world reached $800 million in the last quarter of 2008, and full-year losses had likely hit $5 billion, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a report.

The IATA, which represents 90% of the world’s airlines, also said stock prices of airline companies had plunged further this month, as market players remained uncertain about the end of the global economic crisis.

"Airlines have lost half their capitalized value over the past year," the IATA said, citing the Bloomberg global index, which went down by 9% in January.

"The bottom line is that financial markets are not sure whether the bottom is yet in sight," it added.