Global Airlines suffers losses

The global airline industry has nearly doubled its forecast for losses this year to nine billion US dollars. This comes as airline sector demand continues to shrink. But the forecast by the International Air Transport Association was slightly better than industry losses, last year.

The group says it expects revenue across the sector to fall 15 percent this year. It also predicts passenger volume will likely fall by 3 percent. And that freight volume may decrease by 5 percent this year. Meanwhile, European jet giant Airbus says it will be difficult to achieve sales targets for the company this year. Airlines in Asia have also suffered big losses amid the financial crisis. Japan Airlines, Asia's largest airline in terms of revenue, says it plans to cut capacity on international routes by 10 percent this business year. And state-owned Air India says it is considering delaying planes on order from Boeing.