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Fuel cost to spark airline bankruptcies -

High fuel prices will trigger a rash of airline bankruptcies, leaving only five major carriers in Europe, the head of easyJet's German arm said in an interview published Monday. "Several airlines in Europe will go out of business," John Kohlsaat told Berlin's daily Der Tagesspiegel. "Theoretically, 50 are endangered." Kohlsaat said several carriers had been hit hard by rising fuel costs and were sliding into the red -- a development that in the end would leave only British Airways, Air France/KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair, "and us". He said easyJet would weather the storm due to its relatively low operating costs and modern, fuel-efficient fleet. "A new Airbus consumes 20 percent less fuel than an old Boeing 737," he said.
He said easyJet, currently the fourth-biggest airline in Europe, had no plans to revise its aircraft orders despite the high cost of fuel. "We have ordered 119 and have options for another 88," he said. "We will double in size in the next five years." EasyJet said last month that net losses deepened in the first half of its financial year to 43.3 million pounds due to steep fuel costs and the takeover of GB Airways. Record-breaking oil prices have almost doubled in the past year and have surged by more than 20 dollars since the start of 2008.