TOKYO - JAPAN Airlines (JAL), Asia's largest carrier, said on Friday its operating profit fell by 47 per cent in the fiscal first half, hit by high fuel costs and a tough economic climate.

Operating earnings dropped to 30.23 billion yen (S$464 million) in the six months to September, down from 56.65 billion yen a year earlier.

JAL lowered its full-year operating profit forecast to 28 billion yen from a previous target of 50 billion yen.

In the first half, revenue slipped 6.1 per cent to 1.07 trillion yen.

Passenger numbers on international routes fell 9.4 per cent as 'tourist demand remained weak and business demand, which had been strong in the first quarter, became stagnant as the effects of the global slowdown became evident,' JAL said.

Fuel costs increased by 44.9 billion yen to reach 251.0 billion yen, it said.

Thanks to an increase in one-off profits and a decrease in extraordinary losses, first-half net profits increased five-fold to 36.67 billion yen, up from 7.31 billion a year earlier.

But JAL left unchanged its forecast for a net profit of 13 billion yen for the full year to March due to the tough business climate.

The airline has slashed thousands of jobs, scrapped unprofitable routes and introduced more smaller, fuel-efficient aircraft to try to restore its health in the face of high energy costs and sluggish demand. -- AFP