European airlines see shares fall

Shares in carriers such as Easyjet have been dented

Shares in many of Europe's largest airlines have fallen amid more worries for the industry.

A warning by Ryanair that high fuel bills could see it lose up to 60m euros (�47m) in the year to March 2009, sent its shares down 22%.

The downbeat sentiment saw its rival Easyjet see shares fall 8% while British Airways stock slipped by 5%.

And Germany's Lufthansa, whose ground crew and cabin staff are on strike over pay, fell 3%. Air France-KLM lost 2%.

The soaring price of jet fuel, combined with customers cutting back on flying amid concerns over disposable income, has seen many airlines begin to struggle.

Ryanair has said that the price of oil - which hit $147 a barrel this month - meant it would do no better than break and may make an annual loss.

Fuel bills now make up about 50% of its operating costs.

The budget carrier said net profits in the three months to the end of June had fallen by 85% to 21m euros - below analysts expectations.

Separately, British Airways has said that its Europe-based carrier OpenSkies is to start a new Amsterdam to New York service this autumn.

The premium-class daily service follows the first OpenSkies service which started between Orly airport in Paris and New York last month.

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