Yahoo News Strong dollar offsets airlines' cheap fuel benefit - IATA
By Jeffrey Dastin (Reuters) - The stronger U.S. dollar has offset "quite a lot of the benefit" of lower oil prices for airlines that are not earning much in that currency, International Air Transport Association Director General Tony Tyler told reporters on Tuesday. While Tyler said IATA will update its airline profit forecast in June, the remarks reflect the currency challenges carriers face just as some begin to report first-quarter 2015 earnings. The costs of ground-handling, catering and other aircraft services have risen for many airlines because contracts are often in U.S. dollars, Tyler said at the group's operations conference in Los Angles. Global oil prices have fallen nearly 50 percent since June, but in that time the U.S. dollar currency index has risen more than 20 percent <.DXY>. Tyler also addressed how IATA handles the Germanwings crash in March. "We have a well established process for discussing these things," he said, explaining that member airlines give IATA guidance and it then presents its view on improving safety. "I would expect that these issues will be handled in that way without the requirement for a particular special task force, but that's up to (our members)." IATA's members will discuss the topic this week during the conference, he added. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese and Andre Grenon)
