國際航空公司利潤今年可能減半

The International Air Transport Association says airline profits this year will be cut by nearly 50 percent because of higher oil prices, largely due to turmoil in the Middle East. IATA is downgrading its airline industry profit outlook for 2011 to $8.6 billion - from about $16 billion profit reported by the airlines in 2010.

國際航空運輸協會說，由於中東地區動亂導致石油價格飆升，航空公司今年的利潤將減少一半，從去年的160億美元下降到86億美元。

Political unrest in the Middle East has pushed oil prices to more than $100 a barrel. This is substantially higher than the $84 per barrel the International Air Transport Association predicted in December.

中東地區的政治動亂已經把石油價格推到了每桶100美元以上，遠遠高於國際航空運輸協會12月預測的每桶84美元價位。

The IATA report says rising oil prices are always a challenge for airlines, and the events in the Middle East pose a significant risk.

國際航空運輸協會報告說，對於航空公司來說，油價上升從來都是一個挑戰，而中東地區發生的事件總是造成重大風險。

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani says the impact of higher fuel prices is lessened by the global economic recovery, but the airline industry still faces significant hurdles.

國際航空運輸協會總幹事喬瓦尼·比西尼亞尼說，儘管燃料油價格上升的影響隨着全球經濟復甦而有所減少，可是航空工業仍然面臨着巨大的困難。

We have an industry that is always stumbling from a crisis to another crisis, from a shock to another shock, with a margin, as I mentioned before, more similar to a charity association than a real business. This is an industry that is not sustainable in the long term.”

比西尼亞尼說：“我們這個工業一遇到危機，一遇到震動，就總是步履蹣跚，這多少更像一個慈善組織，而不是真正的企業。從長期來看，這個工業沒有什麼持續性。”

The report finds Asia-Pacific carriers will earn the biggest profits this year. But even in Asia, the expected collective profit of $3.7 billion is substantially down from the $7.6 billion the region’s carriers made last year.

根據國際航空運輸協會的報告，亞太地區航空公司今年的利潤相對來說最大。然而即使是在亞洲，所有航空公司的總收入也將從去年的76億美元大幅減少到今年的37億美元。

The report says profit for North American carriers in 2011 is expected to fall to $3.2 billion, which is about $1.5 billion less than in 2010.

報告還說，北美地區航空公司2011年的利潤預計下降到32億美元，跟去年相比減少15億美元。

Bisignani says Europe’s carriers remain the least profitable among the major regions. Europe's airlines are expected to make only $500 million in profit this year. As for the situation of Middle Eastern carriers, he says their 2010 profit of $1.1 billion will shrink to $700 million.

比西尼亞尼說，在所有的主要地區中，歐洲航空公司仍然是盈利最少的。預計歐洲航空公司今年的利潤只有5億美元。至於中東地區的航空公司，他說，利潤將從2010年的11億美元減少到7億美元。

“One of the reasons is quite clear was this turmoil in the political situation. We have the cases of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia," he said. "There are about 20 percent of the region traffic and this has been really and very clearly impacted by the overall political situation. In the Gulf region, high oil prices bring economic activity and that is the reason why it perhaps continues to gain market share on long-haul routes.”

比西尼亞尼說：“原因之一很顯然就是當地的政治局勢，也就是我們在埃及、利比亞和突尼斯所看到的動亂。這些國家大約佔中東地區航運的20%，受當地政治局勢的影響顯而易見。不過，在海灣地區，高油價帶動了那裏的經濟活動，這就是爲什麼當地航空公司在遠程運輸市場所佔的份額或許會繼續增加。”

The IATA report forecasts a sharp decline of profits among Latin American carriers from $1 billion last year to $300 million in 2011.

國際航空運輸協會的報告指出，拉丁美洲航空公司的利潤將從去年的10億美元減少到2011年的3億美元。

It says African carriers are expected to break even, down from the $100 million profit made by the region last year. The report says strong economic growth and rapidly growing trade links with Asia are keeping African carriers out of the red. But it notes intensifying competition from Middle Eastern carriers and others for lucrative business traffic could spell trouble for African airlines.

非洲航空公司預計今年不虧不賺，不像去年曾盈利1億美元。國際航空運輸協會指出，得益於強勁的經濟增長以及跟亞洲地區迅速增加的貿易交往，非洲航空公司得以避免虧損。可是隨着來自中東和其他地區的市場競爭日益激烈，非洲航空公司可能遇到新的麻煩。