Last year’s quake and tsunami continues to affect Japan Airline’s (JAL) operations as international capacity fell 21.2 percent between April and December 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

International demand on board JAL fell by up to 27.5 percent compared to the corresponding period the prior year while domestic capacity fell 17.7 percent.

For the first three quarters of the financial year ending 31 March this year, domestic load factor managed to increase despite the slowdown in capacity, to up to 63.3 percent.

“Continuing with efforts to improve profitability through timely reaction to changes in the operating environment and by striking an appropriate balance between demand and capacity, JAL scheduled larger aircraft and operated extra flights on several performing routes such as between Haneda and Sapporo as well as Okinawa to maximize revenue, following the recovery in passenger demand in July,” a JAL statement read.

“In the winter schedule, from late October, flight frequency on six routes, including Haneda, Akita and Haneda=Okayama, were also increased for the convenience of the customers.”

Meanwhile last year the carrier kick started, JAPAN PROJECT, a program designed to boost domestic tourism across Japan.