国际航空公司利润今年可能减半

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.

国际航空运输协会说，由于中东地区动乱导致石油价格飙升，航空公司今年的利润将减少一半，从去年的160亿美元下降到86亿美元。

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.

中东地区的政治动乱已经把石油价格推到了每桶100美元以上，远远高于国际航空运输协会12月预测的每桶84美元价位。

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

国际航空运输协会报告说，对于航空公司来说，油价上升从来都是一个挑战，而中东地区发生的事件总是造成重大风险。

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.

国际航空运输协会总干事乔瓦尼·比西尼亚尼说，尽管燃料油价格上升的影响随着全球经济复苏而有所减少，可是航空工业仍然面临着巨大的困难。

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.”

比西尼亚尼说：“我们这个工业一遇到危机，一遇到震动，就总是步履蹒跚，这多少更像一个慈善组织，而不是真正的企业。从长期来看，这个工业没有什么持续性。”

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.

根据国际航空运输协会的报告，亚太地区航空公司今年的利润相对来说最大。然而即使是在亚洲，所有航空公司的总收入也将从去年的76亿美元大幅减少到今年的37亿美元。

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.

报告还说，北美地区航空公司2011年的利润预计下降到32亿美元，跟去年相比减少15亿美元。

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.

比西尼亚尼说，在所有的主要地区中，欧洲航空公司仍然是盈利最少的。预计欧洲航空公司今年的利润只有5亿美元。至于中东地区的航空公司，他说，利润将从2010年的11亿美元减少到7亿美元。

“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.”

比西尼亚尼说：“原因之一很显然就是当地的政治局势，也就是我们在埃及、利比亚和突尼斯所看到的动乱。这些国家大约占中东地区航运的20%，受当地政治局势的影响显而易见。不过，在海湾地区，高油价带动了那里的经济活动，这就是为什么当地航空公司在远程运输市场所占的份额或许会继续增加。”

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

国际航空运输协会的报告指出，拉丁美洲航空公司的利润将从去年的10亿美元减少到2011年的3亿美元。

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.

非洲航空公司预计今年不亏不赚，不像去年曾盈利1亿美元。国际航空运输协会指出，得益于强劲的经济增长以及跟亚洲地区迅速增加的贸易交往，非洲航空公司得以避免亏损。可是随着来自中东和其他地区的市场竞争日益激烈，非洲航空公司可能遇到新的麻烦。