"That we are making any money at all in a year with this combination of unprecedented shocks is a result of a very fragile balance," International Air Transport Association (IATA) director-general Giovanni Bisignani said.
IATA is holding its annual general meeting in Singapore this week.
The revised profit outlook is down 54 percent from its previous estimate of $8.6 billion made in March.
If the forecast is accurate, it would mark a 78 percent decline from the post-recession profit of $18 billion that the world's airlines made last year.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011