Airlines will stay deep in the red this year as they try to ward off the economic downturn and the aftershocks of september 11, the head of a global industry association warned Monday.

The good news is the losses may only be half as large as last year's, according to Pierre Jeanniot, head of the International Air Transport Association, which represents 280 airlines around the world.

"This year, 2002, the best we can hope for would be to cut last year's losses in half," Jeanniot said at the association's annual general meeting, which is held this year in shanghai.

Airlines saw a disastrous year in 2001, losing a collective 12 billion dollars on international operations, almost equaling the profit they had made over the previous four years combined, he said.

The terrorist attacks on the United states on september 11 and the ensuing downturn in air traffic was part of the reason behind the big losses, he said.

"The events of september 11 could not be predicted, and they dramatically accelerated the economic recession which was under

way, leaving us all drowning in red ink," he said.

But even prior to the attacks, airlines had done too little to prepare for a downturn, prioritizing market growth above sustained profitability, he said.

"In retrospect, and looking at the deteriorating situation even before september 11, we would be forced to conclude that this industry was ill-prepared to successfully weather even a fairly mild, regular economic cycle," he said.