Japan Airlines' revenue rose 11.2% to ¥523.7bn in the quarter to June, but EBIT, the earnings measure the airline uses to track underlying profit, fell 72.1% to ¥12.7bn as the fuel bill jumped 58.4% to ¥148.9bn. Operating profit, a narrower line that strips out financing and other items, fell even further in absolute terms, to ¥10.8bn from ¥43.3bn a year earlier.
| Metric | Quarter to June 2026 | Quarter to June 2025 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥523.7bn | ¥471.1bn | +11.2% |
| Aviation fuel costs | ¥148.9bn | ¥94.0bn | +58.4% |
| EBIT | ¥12.7bn | ¥45.5bn | -72.1% |
| Operating profit | ¥10.8bn | ¥43.3bn | Not disclosed |
| Net profit attributable to shareholders | ¥5.4bn | ¥27.1bn | -80.2% |
JAL pinned the fuel spike on a rapid run-up in oil prices tied to worsening conditions in the Middle East, compounded by a persistently weak yen that inflates the cost of dollar-priced jet fuel. Net profit attributable to shareholders dropped 80.2% to ¥5.4bn.
The revenue gain came despite fewer people flying, not more. JAL carried 10.78 million paying passengers across its full-service and low-cost operations in the quarter, down 2.3% from a year earlier, with both international and domestic passenger counts lower. Fares did the work instead: management said fuel-surcharge increases and tighter seat supply, after foreign carriers pulled capacity out of Middle East routings, let its revenue-management system push through sharply higher unit prices on inbound tourism and outbound business travel.
Cargo added a cushion. JAL expanded freighter capacity through a tie-up with Kalitta Air on North American routes and a new codeshare with Cargolux in Europe, and captured higher-value pharmaceutical and AI-hardware shipments that lifted both volumes and unit prices well above last year's levels.
Two capital moves stood out. JAL issued a new class of bond-type shares on June 3 to help fund Airbus A350 and Boeing 737-8 purchases, and it took an equity stake in Lifenet Insurance in June, after signing a capital-and-business alliance with the insurer on April 30.
The airline left its full-year guidance unchanged: revenue of ¥2.095tn, EBIT of ¥180bn and net profit of ¥110bn for the year to March 2027, implying it expects the fuel and currency squeeze to ease, or to be offset elsewhere, well before the accounts close.