The Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS have dealt a severe blow to Japan Airlines System Corp., the holding company of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co.
But with the complete merger of the two carriers in April, the JAL group aims to improve earnings through cost efficiency and aggressive marketing, said Fumio Tsuchiya, the group's managing director and in charge of merger preparations.
Earlier this month, the JAL group revised downward its earning projections for the current fiscal year, predicting a net loss of 89 billion yen, more than double its initial forecast of a 43 billion yen loss announced in May.