JAL Says International-Flight Passengers Slid 19.8% In May

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Japan Airlines Corporation said Thursday that the number of passengers on its international flights declined 19.8% on the year to about 780,000 in May, while its domestic service logged a 13.4% drop to roughly 3.04 million.

Last year, there was solid vacation demand during the Golden Week holidays and for business trips. But this year the major airline was hurt by the economic downturn and concerns over the A/H1N1 swine influenza.

For JAL, this marks the sharpest drop in monthly passenger traffic since its integration with the former Japan Air System Co. in 2004.

(The Nikkei July 10 morning edition)