=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/05/10/f= inancial0931EDT0064.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, May 10, 2002 (AP) Japan Airlines posts losses as travelers drop after terrorist attacks (05-10) 06:31 PDT TOKYO (AP) -- Japan Airlines Co. lost $285 million in the past fiscal year as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent air travel plunging. The Tokyo carrier reported Friday a group net loss of 36.7 billion yen f= or the fiscal year ended in March in contrast to a profit of 41 billion yen the previous fiscal year. The loss was smaller than the airline's earlier forecast of a loss of 40 billion yen ($311 million). Sales fell 6 percent to 1.6 trillion yen ($12 billion) from 1.7 trillion yen a year earlier. The airline said its passenger business had been doing fine until the terrorist attacks, which caused a nearly 12 percent drop in international passengers, compared to a year ago. The number of international passengers totaled 13.37 million, down from 15.14 million a year ago. JAL estimated the sales loss linked to the attack at 110 billion yen ($8= 55 million). In response, the company trimmed expenses by reducing flights on international routes and other cost-cutting efforts, it said. Flight capacity reduction saved 20 billion yen ($156 million), JAL said. International passenger traffic held steady on routes to Europe, South Korea and China but slid for Hawaii as well as the mainland United States, the airline said. International cargo demand was weak throughout the year because of the global technology slump. Passenger volume in Japan increased slightly because of discount fares, JAL said. Japan Airlines has been placing hopes for a turnaround in the upcoming merger with Japan Air Systems. The two airlines are setting up a holding company in October 2002. The coming together of JAL with JAS is expected to allow them to compete better against All Nippon Airways, which controls about half of the Japanese market. "The events of Sept. 11 last year dealt a grave blow to worldwide aviati= on demand," JAL said in a statement. "We expect that the business environment will remain severe for some time." JAL forecast net profit of 23 billion yen ($179 million) on 1.7 trillion yen ($13 billion) in operating revenue for this fiscal year ending in March 2003. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP