Airline leaders cannot be accused of wishful thinking in their optimistic assessment of the industry's outlook. Clear signs are emerging that the sector is past the bottom of the latest trough in the cycle and on the way up again. These indicators have led the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to lift its 2013 profit forecast for the global airline industry to $12.7 billion, thanks partly to anticipated easing of oil prices and the average load factor exceeding 80% for the first time. The latest forecast, released at IATA's annual meeting here last week, is $2.1 billion higher than the last projection issued in March. It is also a significant improvement from the 2012 profit of $7.6 billion. The trade group says 2013 will see the third-highest annual profit since 2001, behind previous cycle peaks in 2007 and 2010.
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