Issue 43 - June 2010
Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
IAAI President meets ATTAC Discuss travel agents’ problems Biji Eapen, President of IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) together with Mr. George Kurian have visited Travel & Tourism Agencies’ Council (ATTAC) recently to discuss pertinent issues concerning Travel Agents’ future role in the travel industry especially in relation to the role of IATA and the Airline. The meeting was conducted in ATTAC premises and was at-
ATTAC members with IAAI President
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tended by the ATTAC representatives namely: Mr. Mohamed Salehi of Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Mr. Mohamed El Sawi of Omeir Travel Agency, Mr. Alaa Al Ali of Nirvana Travel, Mr. Mohammad Al Ita of Advanced Travel & Tourism and Mr. Hani Khorsheed, Secretary General of ATTAC. On the said meeting, Mr. Eapen had briefed the attendants on his experiences regarding the
Ambassador’s Interview
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Q & A - UFTAA
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Interview - Chairman SCTDA
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Social Page - Rotana Graduation
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Interview - Ali Al Saloom
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The Coverage - Bu Tinah
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Airline commission. He also reiterated IAAI’s achievements and how they have accomplished their issues with IATA. Above all the matters over which both associations have shared same ideologies it was also agreed between ATTAC and IAAI to have a constant communication in order to strengthen their aim of protecting the Travel Agent’s interests.
Europe still struggling as global aviation returns to profitability The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects airlines to post a global profit of $2.5 billion in 2010. This is a major improvement compared with IATA’s previous forecast released in March of a $2.8 billion loss. This was revealed in a statement issued by IATA recently. Industry revenues are forecast to be $545 billion in 2010. This is up from the $483 billion in 2009, but still below the $564
billion achieved in 2008. “The global economy is recovering from the depths of the financial crisis much more quickly than could have been anticipated. Airlines are benefiting from a strong traffic rebound that is pushing the industry into the black. We thought that it would take at least three years to recover the $81 billion (14.3%) drop in revenues in 2009. But the $62 billion top line improvement this year puts
us about 75% on the way to pre-crisis levels,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “The $2.5 billion profit comes with some important health warnings. First, this represents a net margin of just 0.5%, which is a long way from sustainable profitability. Second, a major part of the global industry is still posting big losses. A stagnating economy, strikes, natural disas-
ters, and a currency crisis have left European carriers struggling with an anticipated $2.8 billion loss,” said Bisignani. Highlights of the revised forecast include that the, passenger traffic is forecast to grow by 7.1% in 2010 while cargo traffic will expand by 18.5%. This is significantly better than the previous forecast growth of 5.6% and 12.0% respectively. Countine...Page 11