Tokyo, May 8 (IANS): Japan Airlines (JAL) said that it posted a net loss of 286.69 billion yen ($2.64 billion) for the past fiscal year (April 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) as the Covid-19 pandemic battered the demand for travel.

It is the first time for the flag carrier to report net loss since its returning from bankruptcy and re-listing in 2012, reports xinhua news agency.

For the current fiscal year which started on April 1, the company opted not to reveal its earnings forecasts, with company executives citing uncertainty over travel demand looking ahead.

In the year through March 31, JAL reported its sales plunged by 65.3 per cent from the year before to 481.23 billion yen, as it launched a number of cost-cutting initiatives to try to stem the outflow of capital.

Looking to tap into a possible resurgent demand for air travel in the post-pandemic days ahead, as the vaccination campaign in countries gathers steam including in Japan, where a sluggish rollout has been heavily criticised, JAL said it plans to make Spring Airlines Japan Co., a unit of the Chinese low cost carrier (LCC) Spring Airlines Co., a subsidiary next month.

JAL, along with a number of other high-profile carriers, have been looking to increase LCC operations to cater for returning travel demand when the tourism industry stages a recovery from the pandemic.