Has the worst for airlines passed?

Could he be right? We hope so, because Ray Neidl, the hard-working Calyon Securities analyst, thinks that "the worst is past for US airlines." This would be a very good thing, because we have just learned that the US airline industry paid out $4.1 billion for jet fuel in July, up 72% from the same month last year. Consumption was relatively flat at 1.11 billion gallons. The cost for a gallon of jet fuel rose 77% to $3.69 from $2.09 last year, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said. BTS, a part of the Transportation Department, said that, including international carriers, fuel consumption fell 1% to 1.61 billion gallons with a global-wide fuel bill of $6.16 billion, up nearly 80%, year on year.