Exec says stimulus should help airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A portion of the next U.S. economic stimulus bill should be directed to upgrades for aviation infrastructure, American Airlines' top executive said.

American Airlines Chief Executive Officer Gerard Arpey said the airline industry "should certainly be at the top of the list of the industries that are deserving of economic stimulus as it relates to infrastructure," the Fort Worth, Texas, Star-Telegram reported Wednesday.

"I would like to think that the airline industry would merit a great deal of attention," he said. Airlines, rocked by skyrocketing fuel costs through the summer, were subsequently faced with an economic slowdown that has curtailed demand.

The International Air Transport Association reported the global airline industry could lose $2.5 billion in 2009, the newspaper said.

"We seem to have experienced an almost seamless transition in which our fuel cost crisis has been replaced by a potential air travel demand crisis," Arpey told reporters.

"Now, I would have preferred a little downtime between crises, but that's life in the airline business."