Japan Airlines System Corp., suffering from reduced demand due to the war in Iraq, will slash the number of international flights, sources said Wednesday.
The holding company for Japan Airlines and Japan Air System plans to suspend JAL's four weekly Paris-bound flights from Kansai International Airport. It will also halve the number of weekly Kansai-Honolulu and Kansai-Seoul flights to seven each, the sources said.
In addition, JAL may reduce its seven weekly Kansai-Guam and Kansai-Saipan flights by consolidating the routes.
Japan Airlines System plans additional cuts in JAL flights from Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture, the sources said.
The holding company had already announced that it will cut the number of JAL's weekly Narita-Paris flights to seven from 10, starting in April.
In addition, it had said it will cut JAL's seven weekly direct flights to Bali and Jakarta by consolidating the routes.
Overall seat bookings on Japan Airlines System flights for March fell 5 percent to 10 percent from a year ago, when airlines were still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
The airline was hit by an additional 30,000 cancellations in the days following the start of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Japan Airlines System plans to hike fares by an average 3 percent in mid-April to cover the increasing cost of jet fuel since the war began. The decision is in line with an International Air Transport Association decision to hike fares by that margin.