Japan Airlines Co Ltd on Wednesday reported a 3 percent fall in quarterly operating profit, dragged down by higher fuel prices and flight cancellations due to natural disasters. Operating profit for the quarter through September was 71.9 billion yen ($635.10 million), down from 74.3 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
JAL, the country's second-largest airline by revenue, maintained its previous forecast for a 4 percent drop in full-year operating profit to 167 billion yen. The airline said it was using hedging and fuel surcharges to offset the negative impact of higher oil prices on its financial performance. A typhoon that damaged Osaka's Kansai Airport and an earthquake in Hokkaido in September led JAL to cancel many flights across its network.
President Yuji Akasaka told Reuters earlier this month the airline was offering discounted domestic fares to help stimulate demand after international traffic slid around 20 percent in September and domestic traffic fell about 10 percent.
JAL on Wednesday said for the remainder of the financial year, demand was expected to be "robust" on domestic and international routes. Japan's government has been heavily promoting the country as a tourism destination to help boost the economy and JAL has been increasing capacity to cater to stronger demand.
However, the natural disasters led to a 5.3 percent fall in foreign visitors in September, the first year-on-year decline since January 2013, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
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