IATA's days of doom

Reading the monthly industry updates from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a surefire way to dampen your mood. During the last few months there has been little good news to report and IATA has been more than upfront with telling us exactly how it is.

With each month that has passed in 2009, the association’s director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani has painted an increasingly gloomy picture of the international aviation industry. He is a fan of words such as ‘bleak’, ‘weak’ and ‘volatile’, and while it easy to see that the data cannot lie, sometimes it would be nice to have our market reports dressed up with a small amount of optimism, wouldn’t it?

Fortunately, Middle Eastern carriers are providing that much needed ray of light in a market that is seemingly fit to burst with stormy clouds. Words such as ‘year-on-year growth’, ‘expanding demand’ and ‘winning market share’ provide that air of optimism that has been sorely lacking from the global aviation sector in 2009.

We are fully aware that the Middle East is not immune from the global economic crisis. There have been many low points since the final quarter of last year – most notably the demise of the once lucrative premium traffic sector – but this month the region will be flying high as the global aviation industry descends on Dubai for the Airshow.

Its organiser F & E Aerospace says the event is an indication of how well the aviation sector has weathered the economic crash of 2008/09, and as we make our way through what IATA describes as a ‘difficult fourth quarter’, let’s not forget that the region continues to act as a beacon of hope.

Sarah Cowell is the editor of Aviation Business.

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