Japan Airlines’ outlook worsens after quarter misses estimates

Japan Airlines expects a worse loss this fiscal year than previously forecast as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on international demand for travel. The nation’s flag carrier is now forecasting a net loss of Y300b for the 12 months ending March 31 and sales of Y460b, according to an exchange filing Monday. For Q3, JAL reported a net loss of Y51.5b, wider than the Y36.9b estimated by analysts. Sales for the period were Y161.8b versus the Y170b forecast. Airlines in Japan are facing a grim outlook as COVID-19 cases rise and the nation extends its state of emergency. Surging virus numbers in Asia’s second-biggest economy could have limited JAL’s traffic in the third quarter to just 27% of pre-pandemic levels, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said last month. PM Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in major cities including Tokyo in January, after the country’s Go To domestic tourism push aggravated infections. Overseas visitors meanwhile are almost nonexistent, down 97.7% in December from a year earlier, according to Japan’s national tourism organization. Japan is also still yet to reach a conclusion on whether to go ahead with the Olympics later this year. While Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, and the government are pledging to forge ahead, an NHK poll shows that almost 80% of people think the games should be canceled or postponed.<br/>