Deutsche Lufthansa AG sounded a warning it could miss its target of making an operating profit in 2009, blaming stubbornly low demand and a fresh rise in oil prices, according to Reuters. Lufthansa said its nine-month operating profit dropped to 226 million euros ($335.3 million) from 954 million in the year-earlier period. That figure was still above the 74 million euro average analyst estimate in a Reuters poll. But the German airline said extra costs from absorbing recent acquisitions could weigh on its operating margins in the months to come. It gave no other detail. Lufthansa shares slid 5.5 percent by 1640 GMT as the downbeat outlook on Wednesday overshadowed the better-than-expected nine-month earnings. Industry body IATA said last month that the aviation sector was still far from returning to profit, though demand had started recovering from a steep slump. It has said it sees the world"s airlines losing $11 billion this year. Carriers have been offering fewer flights, grounding airplanes and cancelling aircraft orders to cope with lower demand. Plane makers Boeing and rival Airbus are headed for their worst annual order tally in at least 15 years. In Hamburg, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O"Leary told journalists he expected the carrier"s passenger volume in October to rise in line with September"s 17-percent gain. He said the low-cost airline could cancel its options on new Boeing planes if its stumbling talks with the U.S. aircraft maker failed and turn to Airbus. Adding to the industry"s woes, a drop in global trade has pummelled air cargo companies as demand dropped 18 percent in the first eight months of 2009, according to IATA. Lufthansa Cargo generated about 12 percent of the group"s revenues last year.
