Last week, many of the airlines held conference calls to discuss their Q2 financials. During the calls, several themes seemed to repeat over and over. There was a sense (by many, but not all) that the industry had “reached the bottom” and “evened out.” The following quote from the Continental call summed up what many airline executives had to say, “(there are) indicators that decline in revenue has stabilized.”

Despite the signs of stabilization and “bottoming out,” no one was eager to predict how long of a recovery period was in store.

Recent numbers from the IATA support some of what was said in the meetings:

“The plunge in global airline travel eased in June as traffic declined 7.2 percent from a year earlier, the International Air Transport Association said. The fall was less severe than the 9.3 percent drop in May, which IATA said might be a “floor” to the traffic slump caused by the recession.” (from Bloomberg)

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It’s suggested that June traffic numbers were bolstered by travel to/from the Middle East, but other international travel continues to take a hit. Demand for business travel is significantly down, and those seats aren’t necessarily being filled by leisure travelers. When they are being filled by leisure travelers, they’re generally being filled at a lower price point.

Of course, many hope for a fast recovery period, but even great optimists are being cautious. In the meantime, airlines are still feeling pressure when it comes to airfare. This means travelers could continue to see some really great deals. However, it also means we may be in store for more of those fees that everyone loves so much.