JAL Monday reported a jump in quarterly net profit thanks to brisk sales at home and overseas, and revised its full-year forecast upward. JAL received a govt bailout after a high-profile bankruptcy restructuring in 2010. After slashing routes and cutting costs, the carrier relisted on the Tokyo bourse 2 years later and has continued a steady ascent. JAL said its net profit rose 32.9% to JPY19.6b (US$177) for the 3 months to June. Revenue for the April-June period increased 5.9% to JPY314.8b. “In international passenger operations, inbound demand from overseas remained robust and outbound demand has been buoyant, resulting in higher load factors than the year before,” JAL said. The company upgraded its full-year forecast, projecting JPY108b in net profit for the fiscal year to March 2018, up from JPY100b forecast earlier. <br/>
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Royal Jordanian incurred a net loss of JD26.3m (US$37.1m) in the 2017 first half, a figure the airline said was driven by seasonality and a decline in average fares because of over-capacity in the industry. The carrier did not provide comparative figures for the year-ago period, or issue details of its revenue performance. The airline pointed to a net profit of JD1.5m in June, the last month of its half-year period, as a sign that the airline’s turnaround program was starting to take effect. In the same month in 2016, it incurred net loss of JD2.1m. In support of the notion that its performance is turning around, RJ noted that it carried 253,000 passengers in June, a 13% year-over-year increase. Load factor increased 3.9 percentage points YOY to 64.1% in June 2017. <br/>
A New Jersey woman is suing American Airlines for negligence, claiming she was injured when she was forced to evacuate a Philadelphia-bound plane at Palm Beach International last year after passengers smelled a foul odour. In the lawsuit, Linda Fanelli claims she slipped and fell during the emergency evacuation because hydraulic fuel was on the wing of the aircraft. She had to climb over the wing as part of the “panicked, disorganised evacuation” ordered by pilot Kenneth Chapline. While Chapline’s actions were applauded by an aviation expert, Fanelli is suing the pilot along with the airline for an unspecified amount in damages. Both Chapline and the airline were negligent for not properly inspecting the plane before allowing 130 passengers to board, the suit claims. <br/>
Crew on a Sri Lankan Airlines plane carrying 202 passengers have extinguished a mid-flight fire triggered by a mobile phone battery in an overhead locker, the carrier said Monday. The airline said a "major" incident was averted by the quick-thinking attendants on the flight Sunday from Kochi in India to Colombo. Smoke was detected shortly after a meal service on the 70-minute flight, it said. The smoke came from an overhead bin, the airline added. Crew suspected a lithium battery fire and put the luggage in water after failing to stop the smoke with a fire extinguisher, an airline statement said. "The situation was successfully contained and the bag ceased to emit smoke," the airline said. "Upon investigation, the crew found a lithium battery pack and 2 mobile phones in the bag." <br/>