US airlines are forecast to lose a record $7.2 billion this year, in part because most use gas-guzzling elderly Boeing 767s as opposed to newer, more fuel-efficient planes common in European fleets.

American Airlines, Continental and Delta have all announced cutbacks due to rising fuel costs.

Consumers are also being squeezed. USA Today reports that summer airfares in the US are set to rise by as much as four times thanks to spiraling oil prices.

“The sector-wide downturn is pretty textbook,” says Theo Casey in Fleet Street Daily.