'Dark years' ahead for Asian airlines

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SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (AFP): Asian airlines face bleak business in the next two years amid a global recession and must deal with the challenges or face extinction, an industry conference was told today.
Carriers from Asia and the Middle East, which are generally seen as having healthier balance sheets, will not escape the financial turmoil which has spilled over to affect the global economy, speakers at the conference said.
"Looking ahead, I think we are facing, frankly, a couple of dark years for the aviation business," said Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy.
"The thing we all realise by now is this is not just another downturn," he told the Aviation Outlook Asia conference in Singapore.
Harbison warned against airlines being complacent, saying any carrier that refused to take the challenges seriously would be at risk.