Global airline earnings are set to be $3.1 billion higher this year than previously estimated as the impact of lower fuel costs makes up for a slowdown in passenger growth, according to the industry’s main trade group. Net profit across the sector is likely to reach $39.4 billion in 2016, extending a record result set last year, when carriers generated collective proceeds of $35.3 billion, the International Air Transport Association said Thursday at its annual gathering of airline chief executive officers, held this year in Dublin. The improved outlook is largely a result of adopting a baseline of $45 a barrel for the average price of oil this year, versus a previous estimate of $51. At the same time, IATA reckons growth in passenger demand will slow to a “robust” 6.2 percent from 7.4 percent in 2015 as economic expansion slips to the lowest level since the global financial […]