Japan Air Mulls Government Aid As Travel Slumps

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia’s biggest carrier by sales, said Tuesday it is considering applying for government loans to cope with slumping travel demand amid the global downturn.

The airline, also known as JAL, may get loans from the state-run Development Bank of Japan to boost its cash flow. The Asahi newspaper, a major daily, said Tuesday that JAL has already requested 200 billion yen ($2 billion) in loans from the bank. But JAL spokesman Soichi Yatsugi denied the report, saying nothing has been decided.

“We are hit by a slowdown in the global economy. Applying for loans is one of the options” to support the business, Yatsugi said.

JAL has forecast a net loss of 34 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March 2009. It made a net profit of 16.9 billion yen the previous year. The company will release its earnings on May 12.

Amid sluggish travel demand worldwide, JAL said the number of passengers for its international flights in February dropped 15.9 percent year-on-year to around 896,000. Yatsugi said demand for business travel was sharply down.

The number of passengers for domestic flights also fell 13.1 percent to 2.8 million in February. JAL’s revenue comes equally from domestic and international operations.

The Japanese carrier has been struggling to turn itself around through job cuts, more fuel-efficient aircraft and a focus on business travelers.

4/20/2009 11:28 PM TOKYO (AP)