JAL reports drop in passengers

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2010/02/13

Japan Airlines Corp. on Friday reported a 10-percent year-on-year decline in passenger numbers on its domestic routes and a 3.2-percent drop on its international routes for December.

JAL carried 2.77 million passengers on domestic flights and 872,000 on international flights that month. Both figures were the lowest levels for December since the company's integration with Japan Air System Co. in 2002.

JAL attributed the decline on domestic flights to the recession, as well as some "outflow of passengers" to other airlines because of JAL's much-publicized financial difficulties.

The struggling airline filed for court protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law last month.

The airline's seat occupancy rate on domestic flights was 52.4 percent in December, down from 55.8 percent a year before. On 86 of JAL's 147 domestic routes, the rate was below 50 percent, according to JAL.

On the other hand, due to the airline's review of aircraft and routes for international flights, the seat occupancy rate rose to 71.9 percent, from 60.2 percent in December 2008.