SYDNEY, June 5 (Reuters) - The president of Emirates airline EMIRA.UL said the rare combination of higher fuel prices and a stronger dollar - which more usually move in opposite directions - represented a "double whammy" for the group and this would have to be managed.
"We have very strong summer bookings at higher prices," Tim Clark said during a briefing on the sidelines of an aviation industry meeting in Sydney, adding that the airline was monitoring trends for any sign that higher ticket prices were leading to a drop in demand.
Global airlines body IATA on Monday downgraded its profit forecast for the industry, citing higher oil and labour costs, although said yields, a proxy for air fares, are expected to rise by 3.2 percent this year. said he expected to make a decision soon on engines for the carrier's latest order of A380 super jumbos. The planes are due for delivery from 2020.
The General Electric (NYSE:GE) GE.N and Pratt & Whitney UTX.N Engine Alliance venture powers most Emirates A380s, but it lost out to competitor Rolls-Royce RR.L on the latest deliveries.
Clark said the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on its A380s has shown good performance on maintenance since being introduced to the Emirates fleet 14-15 months ago. However, Emirates has delayed some A380 deliveries to allow for fix to a fan blade problem.
He also said that pilot availability is back to normal after an internal planning issue.