Airlines worldwide were expected to loss more than US$2.5 billion this year due to the current economic crisis, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.

The forecast made last December was based on a 3 percent fall in passenger demand and a 5 percent drop in cargo, said IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani.

The fuel cost was becoming less of a problem now as airlines were struggling to fill the premium seats, he said.

The most affected was not the load but the premium traffic, he said.

The airlines usually made money in the business classes and recovered the cost in economy, but the problem now was that business classes were empty, he said.

In the first month of this year, premium business in Asia Pacific fell by 22 percent, but the industry was expecting to save US$30 billion in fuel this year, he said.

Global cargo, a clear indicator of the economy trend, was also going down, in which Asia Pacific carriers were the biggest players and held 44 percent of the world market, he said.

Air cargo accounted for 35 percent of the value of goods traded internationally, he added.

Bisignani noted China's aviation industry would probably recover faster than other big players like Japan and India.

He also said that the forecast was expected to be revised next week as the situation was looking optimistic now.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)