Despite turbulence, Canadian airline profits expected to begin slow climb in 2010

Conference Board of Canada released (13-Sep-2010) its Canadian Industrial Outlook: Canada's Air Transportation Industry-Summer 2010. According to the report, after losing money in 2009 for the first time in five years, Canada's airlines are expected to return to modest profitability this year while prices are expected to remain virtually flat, increasing just 0.1%. The report goes on to state that airlines will have to wait until 2011, when the economy is expected to be on more solid ground, and consumers and businesses are more confident in their financial situation, to boost their prices. The Conference Board of Canada expects pre-tax profits to reach CAD192 million in 2010, a turnaround from a loss of CAD381 million in 2009. Even if passenger loads continue to strengthen, the industry is not expected to surpass its recent peak in profit levels, CAD530 million in 2007, during the forecast period through 2014. [more]