The losses of Middle East Airlines, (MEA), during January were between seven and eight million dollars, said the company’s chairman Mohamad Hout today. “We have not suffered such losses since the 2006 war, when the company lost $35 million,” he said. “January was a bad month for the country, and, consequently, for MEA,” he said. However, Hout remained optimistic about the prospects of his company. “We have survived worse situations, and I am confident that we will survive the current one.” Hout said that he was hopeful that political stability will eventually prevail. “The situation this week is better than it was last week,” he said. He said that, while he has no specific figures yet for MEA’s financial performance in 2010, “they will obviously be less than those of 2009.” He said that MEA will not increase the prices of tickets to make up for the rise in the prices of oil.