The global financial crisis will have a serious impact on airlines, industry executives said on Wednesday, as financing for new planes and fuel hedging become increasingly difficult.

"The financial crisis will lead to financing problems," said Jean Christoph Debus, managing director of leisure airline Condor, which is majority owned by tourism company Thomas Cook.

Speaking at a panel discussion in Cologne, Debus said he expected to see rising credit costs for new planes, while hedging against fuel prices would become increasingly difficult as a result of the crisis.

Airlines usually lock in prices for their fuel ahead of time to lessen their exposure to volatility in prices.

Thomas Cook, for example, said earlier this month it had hedged 95 percent of its expected fuel needs for next year.

"(The financial crisis) can have grave implications for the industry, because it is very capital intensive," said Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive of Indian carrier Jet Airways.

The head of Lufthansa's Swiss airline, Harry Hohmeister, said in an interview last month he expected to see a decline in demand, particularly as companies cut back on business trips.

"For us, the crisis will most likely be reflected in demand as Switzerland is an important financial centre," Hohmeister told German magazine fvw in August.