The figures are unwelcome news for Japan Airlines' bosses

Asia's biggest airline by revenue reported a net loss of 12.04bn yen (�58.4m; $102.2m) in the six months to the end of September.

Japan Airlines said fuel prices jumped by more than 21% during the period, pushing its fuel costs to 44.2bn yen.

The company has struggled to cut costs, while a series of safety problems have dented its image.

"We had more impact from the troubles in the second quarter than in the first quarter," said executive officer Haruka Nishimatsu.

"The impacts showed in the second quarter, when we make the most money."

Wages cut

Japan Airlines said it expected to report a loss of 47bn yen for the full year to the end of March 2006, against a previous profit forecast of 17bn yen.

Separately, the company said it was planning to cut basic staff wages by an average of 10% between January 2006 and the end of March 2008, as part of efforts to reduce costs.

Japan Airlines added that it would invest up to 60bn yen on safety-related measures

Traffic on the airline's routes between Japan and China fell sharply after a series of anti-Japanese protests in April, when China was angered by Japanese approval of a school textbook presenting a nationalist view of early 20th Century history.

Overall, international traffic rose just 0.3% over the half-year, with domestic routes seeing a 1% reduction in passengers.