Airlines grapple with double whammy of hits

Doha — Global airlines are grappling with a double whammy from the rare combination of a strong US dollar and high oil prices at a time when broad inflationary pressures and worker shortages are also placing pressure on the pandemic-hit industry’s recovery.

The oil price and the dollar typically have an inverse relationship so that when one is high, the other is low, helping to even out the financial impact on airlines that operate in other currencies.

That correlation, however, has…