40 airlines worldwide have suspended their operations in the last 15 months

NVDL: If you'd like to see the world, now might be a good time. While you still can.

clipped from news.yahoo.com GENEVA (Reuters) – World airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the global recession that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body IATA said. "The relief of lower fuel prices is overshadowed by falling demand and plummeting revenues. The industry is in intensive care." The Swiss-based body said its latest forecast was based on a view that the economy and air transport demand would hit bottom by mid-2009 and then start to recover. Asia-Pacific carriers will continue to be hardest hit by global economic turmoil and are expected to post losses of $1.7 billion, against the earlier forecast loss of $1.1 billion in 2009, according to the Geneva-based body. Carriers in North America are expected to deliver the "best performance" among the world's regions with an estimated $100 million profit, IATA said, crediting their strength to early capacity cuts and relatively little fuel hedging that has permitted them to benefit from sliding oil prices.