JAL profit caught in fuel-cost downdraft; wage cuts planned

Japan Airlines Corp. announced Monday that rising fuel costs and falling passenger numbers pushed the carrier into the red in the fiscal 2005 first half and a full-year loss looms, and it promptly announced a 10 percent wage cut on average for some 22,000 employees as early as January and lasting through March 2008.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='200' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20051108a1a.jpg' WIDTH='200' HEIGHT='203'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Japan Airlines Senior Vice President Haruka Nishimatsu –

announces Monday at the Tokyo Stock Exchange that the carrier fell into the red in the first half of this year.

JAL reported a group net loss of 12 billion yen in the first half, compared with a net profit of 82.9 billion yen a year earlier, as it struggles with surging oil prices and a drop in domestic travelers as well as tourists going to China.