Japan Airlines (JAL) has reported its first quarterly profit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that business is “steadily rebounding.”
The financial year’s revenue target was also raised by Japan’s second-largest airline as a result of a significant uptick in both business and foreign passenger traffic.
“From October, with further easing of restrictions including removal of the cap on the number of people entering Japan and exemption of short-stay visas for tourism, we expect a full-fledged recovery in demand, including inbound travel,” the airline said in a first half results statement on November 1, 2022.
JAL reported earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of JPY27.9 billion ($189 million) for the three months ending September 30, 2022, the second quarter of its fiscal year. This was the company’s first quarterly profit since the third quarter of 2019. The second quarter saw a 122% increase in revenue to JPY349.6 billion ($2.4 billion), mainly to recover international passenger traffic and the cargo business’s continued excellent performance.
JAL operates two low-cost brands, Zipair and Spring Japan, in addition to the mainline full-service carrier. It also owns a portion of Jetstar Japan. The group’s fleet consisted of 226 aircraft overall at the conclusion of the quarter.
JAL expects total annual revenue of JPY1,404 billion ($9.5 billion), up JPY14 billion from its prior expectation.
Domestic sales within that prediction are anticipated to be lower as a result of an additional wave of COVID-19 infections during the first half of the year. However, it is anticipated that cargo and international passenger revenues will surpass prior projections.
JAL maintained its prediction for EBIT of JPY80 billion ($542 million) in terms of profit since growing fuel costs are anticipated to offset the rise in revenue.
“Business performance is steadily recovering. Going forward, the entire company will make a concerted effort to further increase profits,” JAL summarized in the results statement.
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