This word from Boeing’s marketing man, Randy Tinseth (and see his always interesting blog here):

Yes, Boeing is predicting a further “contraction in the world economy next year” and the airlines will continue to face challenges. It’s a situation that remains fluid, but…

But Tinseth said his company also believes the industry will continue to show “robust growth” over the next several years – and indicated the airlines are doing things right by cutting capacity and taking older planes out of service.

Plus, he expects that fuel will “eventually” drop back to levels of about $70 to $80 a barrel.

Hope he’s right.

That’s what Morgan Stanley is saying (and they’re not alone): actually, the word these analysts use to describe the airline industry to investors is “attractive”.

This forecast is based in part on PRASM, or “Passenger Revenue per Available Seat Mile”, and why not? We know airfares are rising, and we know that most seats on airlines will be filled with passengers who purchased airfare – with fewer seats flying empty (capacity cuts are kicking in now, so look for 180,000 fewer seats by the end of the year, and millions fewer by next year).

What does this mean to you?

Well, there will still be bargains – they’ll just be harder to find, but FareCompare will help you. And here’s another comforting thought: despite all the economic bad news and gloom & doom from forecasters earlier this year, we still have an airline industry – and at the moment anyway, it’s fairly healthy.