Chinese airlines expect to see profits despite gloomy global market in 2012

Airlines worldwide face losses of $8 billion next year if the eurozone debt crisis continues to deteriorate, the industry's leading trade group said on Thursday, while Asian airlines, particularly in China, are expected to deliver the biggest profit, Global Times reported. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) cut its central forecast for 2012 industry profits to $3.5 billion from $4.9 billion, with a net margin of 0.6 percent. Its profit outlook for 2011 was unchanged at $6.9 billion. Asia-Pacific carriers are expected to see the most profits, Geneva-based IATA said, adding that it had upgraded its 2011 forecast for the region by $800 million to $3.3 billion, making it the most profitable region worldwide. Regional differences are expected to become more stark in 2012, with European carriers set to make losses of $600 million and Asian counterparts forecast to make a total profit of $2.1 billion. "For Chinese carriers, demand and ticket prices on international routes have been greatly affected by the sluggish world economy in 2011, but their domestic market is well managed. Their load factors and ticket prices have seen an upward trend," the newspaper said, citing Li Lei, a Beijing-based aviation analyst at China Securities.