All Nippon Airways Co. will begin asking cabin attendants in April to take voluntary leaves of absence of up to 10 months without pay in the face of falling demand for passenger flights, company officials said Monday.

The program will apply to some 4,000 attendants on both domestic and international flights, allowing them to chose a leave of one, five or 10 months, the officials said.

In its 2008 business year ending Tuesday, ANA is expected to fall into the red for the first time in six years with a group net loss of ¥9 billion.