=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/2004/02/06/f= inancial1159EST0093.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, February 6, 2004 (AP) Japan Airlines System reports loss for first nine months of year (02-06) 08:59 PST TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's biggest air carrier, Japan Airlines System Corp., lost more than $500 million for the April-December period as international air traffic plunged over worries about SARS and the Iraq war. The airline, formed in October 2002 through the merger of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co., said Friday it lost 53.87 billion yen ($507 million) for the nine-month period. The flagship carrier, known as JAL, posted a group operating loss of 43 billion yen ($405 million) on revenue of 1.47 trillion yen ($13.8 billion). The company left unchanged its earnings estimates for the full fiscal ye= ar through March at a group net loss of 65 billion yen ($612 million) and 1.975 trillion yen ($18.6 billion) in revenue. Air travel declined sharply in Asia last year over fears about severe acute respiratory syndrome and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The airline also lost about 500 million yen ($4.7 million) in revenue because of canceling flights for engine defects affecting its JAS unit's MD-81 and MD-87 airplanes. The company estimated it will have canceled 596 flights by Saturday, affecting about 40,000 passengers. JAL has said the flights will resume Sunday. JAL's revenue from international passengers during the April-December period fell 22 percent to 405 billion yen ($3.8 billion) compared with combined figures of the former Japan Airlines and Japan Air System group companies. But it said the pace of decline had slowed compared in the last three months from the 29 percent decline in the April-September period. Revenue from domestic passenger services rose 6.2 percent to 512 billion yen ($4.8 billion). The JAL and JAS units will begin flying under the JAL brand in April. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP