North American airlines -- including American (AMR) United (UAUA) Delta (DAL) and Continental (CAL) -- are expected to report combined losses of about $3.9 billion in 2008 though they will generate about $300 million in profits next year. The reason: Lower fuel prices will more than offset the declining number of passengers. Worldwide airlines may lose about $2.5 billion next year down from about $5 billion this year Bloomberg News reports. The estimates are from the International Air Transport Association a trade group representing 230 airlines that carry about 93% of international travelers.In the US carriers acted quickly to ...