VOA标准英语2009年-Airline Industry Faces $4.7 Billion in Losses i

The International Air Transport Association says world airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion in 2009 due to the global recession, almost double the amount of loss predicted by IATA in December.

The International Air Transport Association says 2009 is shaping up to be one of the toughest years the airline industry has ever faced. It says the global economic downturn has caused passenger demand to fall by 5.6 percent and has made a big dent¹ in cargo² traffic.

IATA Director General, Giovanni Bisignani, says air cargo was down by more than 23 percent in January. He says this is a leading indicator³ not just for airlines, but for the whole economy.

"Air cargo represents 35 percent of the value of goods traded internationally. And, a slowdown in cargo means that the consumers are not buying and manufacturers are not producing. And, we can fully⁴ expect that the economic downturn of the following months will get worse before it gets better," he said.
　
Giovanni Bisignani

Bisignani says the only bright spot in this otherwise gloomy picture is the lower price of fuel. He says this will help the industry, but not enough. He says the benefits from lower fuel prices are overshadowed by falling demand and plummeting⁵ revenues.

He says airlines will have to make sacrifices to keep from going under, but he says the one area they will not short-change is safety.

"Despite this difficult moment, despite the loss in revenues, the massive losses, this is the number one priority. And, this is still a good story. By the end of this month, March, all IATA members will have achieved IOSA registration," Bisignani said.

IOSA is the acronym⁶ for IATA Operational Safety Audit⁷, a program the airlines use to measure their conformity⁸ with global safety standards.

IATA says Asia-Pacific carriers are the hardest hit by the economic crisis and can expect losses of $1.7 billion. By comparison, it says North American airlines are putting in the best performance and will make an estimated $100 million in profit this year.

Regarding other regions, IATA says European, Latin American and African carriers are expected to record large losses. But, it notes the Middle East will be the only region to maintain growth.

The International Air Transport Association predicts the airline industry will start to recover by the end of the year or the beginning of 2010. It says consumers will benefit from the airline's misfortune as leading airlines slash⁹ fares to woo customers.

1 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

6 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

7 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

8 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

9 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。