Battered by a plunge in jet travel following the terrorist attacks, Japan Airlines reported a 61 percent fall in profit for the first fiscal half and forecast billions of yen in losses for the whole year.
Japan's biggest airline said yesterday that profits for the six months ended in September totaled ?16.4 billion (US$134 million), down from 42.4 billion yen for a year ago. Sales totaled ?871 billion (US$7.1 billion), down 0.3 percent from ?874 billion.
Earlier this week, JAL announced it was merging with domestic rival Japan Air System to cut costs and compete better against global competitors by setting up a holding company next year and bringing together their businesses by 2004.
But hard times are certain to continue given the deterioration in international travel. Japanese have canceled tours by the droves since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And analysts say the promise of the merger remains too murky to count on solid results soon.
"It's really unclear what's going to happen," said Satoshi Abe, analyst with Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. "To begin to tackle cost-cutting, they have to first show they can carry out the merger."
Among the major stumbling blocks are the different corporate cultures at JAL and JAS.
JAL controls 25 percent of the domestic market -- only half of the nation's No. 2 airline, All Nippon Airways. Together, JAL and JAS would control 48 percent of the domestic market.
The merger still needs approval from government regulators and shareholders.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2002, JAL expects to chalk up ?40 billion (US$327 million) in losses on ?1.6 trillion (US$13 billion) in revenue. In fiscal 2000, JAL had posted a 41 billion yen profit on revenue of ?1.7 trillion. The airline lost ?10 billion (US$82 million) in cargo revenue and an additional ?10 billion (US$82 million) in international passenger revenue. Cost-cutting helped regain ?13 billion (US$106 million), it said.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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