JAL China Route Passenger Revenue 20 Pct Lower than Planned

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japan Airlines has said that its passenger revenue on China routes last December was about 20 pct lower than its initial plan, following Beijing’s notices advising Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan.

The weakness continued into January and beyond, the company said.

Still, passenger revenue on routes to and from China accounts for only about 8 pct of the JAL group’s total international flight revenue.

The China route revenue loss “could be covered this fiscal year, as (revenue on) other routes remains very strong,” Executive Vice President Yuji Saito told a press conference Tuesday.

According to JAL, China route revenue in December plunged by 1 billion yen at JAL and by about 300 million yen at affiliate Spring Japan Co., a low-cost carrier based in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, from the originally planned levels.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]