Things in the Sky

…when looking at numbers from this year.

Maybe I’m the only one (please let me know if that’s the case ), but I think it’s important to distinguish between the troubles the industry has had this year and last year, as I think the two situations have some important differences.

Last year, the industry faced major cost pressures due to rising oil prices. As a result, the carriers pushed through a good number of fare increases. This year, oil is back down, but now the industry is facing revenue troubles due to weak demand.

Of course, both of these things have a negative effect on profits, but I think it might be something important to consider when comparing RASM from this year to 2008.