So far this year, 25 airlines have collapsed. Those that have survived have taken on hefty losses. The seven biggest US carriers had combined 2Q losses of almost $6 billion.

The airline industry has been one of the hardest hit by this summer’s run-up in crude oil prices.

British Airways (LON:BAY) CEO Willie Walsh says it’s “the worst trading environment the industry has ever faced.”

But crude oil’s retreat from its early-July peak has led investors back into the industry, says Martin Denholm in The Smart Profits Report.

Much of the recent drop in oil prices is due to the rally in financials, says Byron King. But the black goo is still double the price it was two years ago. Worse still, the US is now coping with chronic inflation. Precious metals are the best way to your savings and purchasing power…

The price of fuel now makes up 35 percent of airline costs compared with 13 percent a decade ago. Capital and Crisis editor Chris Mayer says if oil prices stay where they are and nothing else changes, the airline industry will lose about $6 billion this year, compared with a profit of $5.6 billion last year.

Sometimes, it pays to look the other way behind the trail of a blazing bull market in energy prices. In this case, some airlines will reward investors with big profits over the next 6-12 months.