Airline industry outlook still grim - execs

By Neil Chatterjee and Sara Webb

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Demand for air travel could decline further despite signs of a more stable global economy, and prospects of a recovery this year look slim, industry executives said at a meeting of the world's airlines on Sunday.

Cargo demand may have stabilised, but a pick-up is unlikely until demand recovers in the United States, said the CEO of Korean Air, the world's top air cargo carrier.

"I think we have hit the bottom," Cho Yang Ho told Reuters.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said it was sticking to its 2009 sales target of 300 gross orders but that it would be more difficult to accomplish.

"It is more of a stretch now," Airbus Commercial Director John Leahy told Reuters.

"We see the market improving, and we have negotiations for orders ongoing."

International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), the world's largest plane-leasing company, said it was negotiating for more planes with Airbus and Boeing Co, but "at the right price".

The annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association began on a sombre note, with last week's still unexplained crash of an Airbus A330-200 adding to the woes of an industry hurt by the financial crisis and volatile oil prices.