Japan Airlines Co on Tuesday forecast a 60% rise in net profit for the current business year as travel demand recovers further from the COVID-19 pandemic, and after swinging back to the black for the first time in three years. For the business year to March 2024, JAL expects a group net profit of 55b yen ($399.8m), compared with 34.4b yen last year. Nine analysts surveyed by Refinitiv forecast a mean profit of 75.3b yen. A pick-up in travel demand throughout the last fiscal year offset higher fuel costs to help Japan’s second-largest airline return to profit. Domestic demand is expected to return to 94% of pre-COVID levels during the current business year, while demand for international travel is seen recovering to 65%, the company said. Group revenue is expected to rise 20.5% to 1.66t yen, it said.<br/>
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Japan Airlines will introduce three new cargo planes for the first time in more than a decade, seeking to diversify revenue by tapping into global and local consumer demand fueled by e-commerce and parcel delivery. Three new Boeing Co. 767-300ER dedicated cargo aircraft will operate starting this fiscal year, which ends March 2024, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Until now, the airline has run its cargo business using space on passenger flights and chartering other companies’ freighters. Japan Airlines is also anticipating greater demand for cargo transport due to new regulations next year that will limit the number of hours that truck drivers in Japan are allowed to work. The new rules are seen disrupting logistics and supply chains as factories, homes and businesses find news ways for transporting goods and finished products. “We will tie up with logistics partners to reliably meet increasing demand in the international e-commerce industry,” Yuji Saito, CFO at Japan Airlines, said at a news conference. Japan Airlines said it will also work with Yamato Holdings Co. to expand services. For international routes, Japan Airlines said it will mainly operate flights to and from East Asia, while eventually seeking to operate domestic flights to improve aircraft utilization. “Our freight business will be a hybrid of domestic and international, making it a little different from major conventional cargo businesses,” Saito added.<br/>
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons is again being touted in media reports as a possible investor in SriLankan Airlines. The owner of Air India, Vistara, Air India Express, and AirAsia India has long been considered a possible investor in Sri Lanka's state-owner carrier. SriLankan Airlines is one of several state-owned enterprises the government wants to privatise. However, it has become something of a political football with various agenda at play in Colombo. Speaking at a recent government committee on public enterprises hearing, SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage was supportive of privatisation as long as the right buyer was found, while CEO Richard Nuttall said he was focused on replacing aircraft and rebuilding the fleet ahead of any privatisation. SriLankan Airlines presently flies to the Indian airports of Bangalore International, Chennai, Delhi International, Hyderabad International, Kochi International, Madurai, Mumbai International, Thiruvananthapuram, and Tiruchirapally from its Colombo hub. Based on seat availability data, SriLankan Airlines currently commands a 63.21% market share on the country pair. Air India has the second biggest presence on Sri Lanka - India sectors, with a 13.68% market share. If Tata acquired a full or part stake in SriLankan Airlines, adding in Vistara's 4.69% market share, its airlines would provide 81.58% of all seats on the country pair, which may or may not raise competitive concerns. The media reports suggest the SriLankan government is "considering" Tata Sons as a possible investor. <br/>