Japan Airlines (JAL) will again seek public funds in an effort to remain a viable business.
Several media reports cite JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu as making the requests after meeting with the country's transport minister.
JAL shares fell 18% on the Tokyo stock exchange today, reportedly on rumors the company might be broken up.
In early July the Japanese government guaranteed ¥100 billion ($1.1 billion) in loans that the Oneworld alliance carrier obtained from five Japanese banks, including some government financial institutions. This is on top of earlier loans by the government. The LDP government also formed a panel to look into the airline's restructuring plans.
This came after JAL reported ¥99 billion net loss in the three months to 30 June, up sharply from a loss of ¥3.4 billion a year before. Operating revenue fell 32% to ¥334.8 billion due to adverse international cargo and passenger traffic.
The beleaguered carrier also announced recently that it will cut 6,800 jobs and sharply reduce routes.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
