Struggling Japan Airlines said on Thursday it would axe 16 more routes, affecting dozens of flights, as part of a drastic overhaul aimed at keeping it in the skies in the face of mounting losses.

JAL, which is seeking a public bailout, will suspend eight international routes by January, including those between Tokyo and the Chinese cities of Hangzhou, Qingdao and Xiamen, as well as Tokyo to Mexico City via Vancouver.

Asia's biggest carrier will also scrap seven flights a week to both London and Taipei, resulting in a total of 61 fewer round-trip international passenger flights a week. Eight domestic routes will also be suspended as JAL restructures under the wing of a state-backed corporate revival agency.

'The company decided the suspensions were unavoidable in order to survive,' said JAL executive Manabu Sato. 'We tried not to rely on an optimistic outlook for future growth in market demand when deciding which routes to discontinue,' he added.

Including already announced cutbacks, JAL now plans to suspend a total of 13 international and 15 domestic routes over the 18 months to September 2010.

JAL, Asia's biggest carrier, expects the route suspensions to save the company a total of 12.2 billion yen (S$135.4 million) a year and affect some 200 employees at home and overseas, Mr Sato said.

Source: AFP