Aircraft
Asia-Pacific traffic recovers but profits are still elusive
This year will likely be an improvement on 2009 for airlines in this part of the world but it won’t mean a quick return to profitability, according to Andr

This year will likely be an improvement on 2009 for airlines in this part of the world but it won’t mean a quick return to profitability, according to Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). But the substantial losses the group’s members have suffered in the last two years should at least be reduced, he told AIN in an interview ahead of this week’s Singapore Airshow.

Herdman said, “2009 was a very tough year but the mood definitely shifted in the last couple of months, with steady improvement on the cargo side and the passenger business coming back slowly,” said Herdman. “But we are still very challenged because yields are still weak and the oil price is still high at $80 per barrel.”