Regardless of the cause, the crash has dealt a painful setback to Sharm el Sheik, a beacon of the Egyptian tourism industry that is still suffering from a global travel slump.

During the travel slump after the Sept. 11 attacks, hotels were eager to work with discount and travel agency sites to fill rooms.

As airlines try to cut capacity during the current travel slump, they are increasingly turning to regional jets to serve small or midsize markets more profitably.

After the travel slump caused by the Sept. 11 attacks, Travelocity had to eliminate hundreds of customer service jobs.

Many members were already jittery over the status of American, which has flirted with bankruptcy once and, industry analysts say, may still have to seek protection from creditors if it cannot reduce costs and if the travel slump continues.

The airline, created from the remnants of the bankrupt Swissair, blamed the travel slump caused by the SARS epidemic and a general malaise in the economy.

Mr. Baker, though, said his conversations with airline executives about advance bookings did not indicate that the travel slump was about to lift anytime soon.

Because of a worldwide travel slump reflecting sagging economies, the more than 100 airlines in 49 countries to which GPA leases airplanes are treading cautiously.

Some analysts, though, warn that the worldwide travel slump could hurt GPA's ability to raise the hoped-for $658 million in the sale.

P&O Princess Cruises reported a 78 percent decline in first-quarter net income, although the company said business had begun to recover from the travel slump after Sept. 11.