Airline industry set to enjoy a brighter 2010

Not only did fuel prices continue to rise, but passenger numbers dropped markedly as consumers opted to tighten their belts and stick to holidaying closer to home.

And of the paying passengers that the airlines did carry over the past 12 months, a significant number were on board taking advantage of slashed fares, with many having been offered incentives such as free upgrades to take to the skies rather than take the train, thereby further affecting the carriers' bottom line.

Indeed, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals for both business and leisure dropped by a worldwide average of four per cent over the course of 2009.

More specifically, in Europe, international traveller numbers were seen to drop by six per cent, while in the Americas they were down by five per cent, with this translating into millions of pounds worth of lost
revenues for tourism businesses both great and small.

But, while it's only a short distance into the new decade, already things are starting to look up for the aviation industry, with interest in international flights slowly but surely taking off as consumers grow
tired of being frugal and businesses start booking their workers on overseas trips once again.

At the same time as painting its gloomy picture for 2009, the UNWTO has predicted that world tourism will enjoy a positive 12 months looking ahead, with Africa in particular set to benefit as international travellers become increasingly adventurous and as tens of thousands of sports fans book flights to Cape Town or other South African cities for the 2010 World Cup.

That said, the airline industry itself is not getting carried away, acknowledging that those Britons who opted for a holiday caravan in Wales last summer are unlikely to be jetting off to the Caribbean for a fortnight this time around.

David Henderson, spokesperson for the Association of European Airlines (AEA), explained: "The 2010 results will not be as bad as 2009; the airlines are making cost cuts wherever they can find them - but turning
a negative of those proportions into a plus in the space of one year will be an unattainable goal.

"Unlike 2009, when just about every airline in Europe lost heavily, 2010 will see some making small surpluses, but overall the picture remains very gloomy."

So, while things are indeed looking up for the world's airlines, it seems it will be some time yet before consumers are once again able to take two or more foreign holidays a year and think nothing of booking a
cheap flight for a city break on the spur of the moment.