IATA: Airline industry continues to feel the pain as BA reports record loss but technology holds key to survival

The announcement today of a GBP292 million loss by UK flagship airline British Airways reveals that the airline industry is continuing to feel the pain from the global recession.

BA's loss - declared for the first six months to the end of September - is the first time the UK flagship airline has reported a loss in the first half of its financial year. Last year it reported a profit of GBP52 million for the same period.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, said 2009 had been the most difficult year in the history of the aviation industry. "Aviation remains in recession with revenue likely to be GBP1bn lower this year," he said.

However, advances in technology are helping airline companies withstand the current global economic downturn. Technology is providing a raft of solutions to enhance the performance of airline companies in the current tough economic conditions. NIIT's solutions include: e-commerce portals, reservation and ticketing systems, airport operations systems, loyalty programme systems, fares, pricing and global distribution systems, commercial systems, revenue accounting systems, corporate and consumer travel solutions and back office integration solutions.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts that the global airline industry will post a loss of GBP6.7 million ($11 million) this year as a result of rising fuel prices and widespread fare discounting in the industry.

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