Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"Skyrocketing oil prices are changing everything. The situation is desperate and potentially more destructive than our recent battles with all the horsemen of the apocalypse combined."

Source: Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association. In a worst-case scenario, IATA forecasts airline losses as great as $6.1 billion for 2008, as they face soaring jet fuel prices. That projection is based on oil prices hovering close to the $135-per-barrel record reached May 22, reports Bloomberg. Prices have since dropped about $8 per barrel; IATA's official projection is for "only" a $2.3 billion loss, based on an oil price closer to $107 per barrel. Still, even that mumber is a stunning reversal of the group's earlier projection of a $4.5 billion net industry profit. If it proves accurate, this will be the worst year for the airlines since 2003.

FMI: www.iata.org