Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from the line of Arnie with CJS Securities. Please continue with your question.
Arnie Ursaner - CJS Securities
Sure. It's Arnie Ursaner with CJS Securities. Good morning.
Laurans Mendelson
Good morning, Arnie.
Arnie Ursaner - CJS Securities
Couple of bookkeeping questions, first, what sort of tax rate guidance would you suggest we have for the year?
Thomas Irwin
Hi, this is Tom Erwin. If you look at the first quarter and adjusted for the R&D tax savings that is add back, the one-time benefit in the first quarter. You get to about a 34% effective rate which is in line with last year.
Arnie Ursaner - CJS Securities
Okay. And another bookkeeping item. I assume currency was not a material impact either in your results or in your guidance, is that a fair statement?
Thomas Irwin
That's correct.
Arnie Ursaner - CJS Securities
Okay. Larry, in your prepared remarks, or in your comments on your last conference call, you indicated at that point and this was in late December. You indicated that if you only achieved your guidance at that point, you would be extremely disappointed. And at that time the IATA data was talking about a decline of 1 to 4% in global airline travel. So I guess the real question in the back of my mind is what has changed in the month that has made you significantly more cautious than you were a month ago?
Laurans Mendelson
Arnie, that's a good question. And I look at it really is really almost two months that we were looking at. But the main changes, November and December are normally slow months for us in the Flight Support Group. For some reason in October, normally it's a relatively strong month. November December are weak months and we see a big pop-back in January. And we were expecting that based upon conversations with airlines and talking to customers and big customers. And they were indicating that January would be a strong month.
Unfortunately, that pop didn't happen. I can tell you-- I hate to say February appears to be better than January. Maybe we're getting the January effect in February. I'm not sure, but I don't want to give anybody too optimistic an expectation, but the main issue was that January didn't do what it normally does and pop-up. I had expected it to be and I was disappointed. I was very disappointed and Eric was very disappointed. And it's going down the line. And there is a lot of yelling and yipping about moving products out the door.
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