Japan Airlines (JAL) has posted a 5.4% decline in net income to ¥166.2 billion ($1.62 billion) for the financial year to March 31, 2014. Like its rivals, JAL suffered from a weak yen, high fuel costs, increased competition and the residual effects of the global economic downturn.
JAL operating revenue rose by 5.7% to ¥1.31 trillion, but as costs rose by 9.5% to ¥1.14 trillion, operating income fell by 14.6% to ¥166.7 billion.
JAL carried 3.9% more passengers during this period welcoming nearly 39 million customers onboard. Load factor was up 0.7 percentage points to 71%. RPKs rose by 3.5% to 59.1 billion, with ASKs up 2.6% to 83.3 billion.
JAL president Yoshiharu Ueki said the airline group would not be revising its operating income forecast of ¥140 billion for the financial year to March 31, 2015. He said: “We will continue to do our best to achieve the targets we set for fiscal year 2014 and prepare ourselves to realize growth from fiscal year 2015.”