NEW YORK �" The price of fuel may be heading down �" at least for a while �" but that is bringing little relief to airlines.

In a speech this week, Qantas boss Geoff Dixon predicted the world’s airlines would slash 100,000 jobs this year on the way to a new world order vision of strong, global aviation brands.

He said the Qantas two-brand strategy had given the group the flexibility to meet the needs of a wide range of customers while better aligning costs, revenues and product offerings in individual markets.

As a result, Jetstar was poised to become a pan-Asian brand, which Dixon described as a “huge opportunity”.

The competitive outlook among premium airlines is only going to get “fiercer” according to Dixon, and the cycles of innovation will turn more rapidly.

By 2020, Dixon expects many more airlines will disappear, either unable to cope with higher fuel costs, or be swallowed up in takeovers or mergers.

He said, “the industry structure will be on a global scale, and focused on maximum cost constraint and efficiency”.

Meanwhile, a slowing economy and the ripple effects of the Sichuan earthquake helped produce a 23 percent year-over-year drop in Chinese airlines' combined net income in the first half of 2008 to U$540.9 million.

According to CAAC statistics, load factor remained level at 74.1 percent and ontime performance dropped 3.5 points to 80.3 percent.