Battered by the global financial crisis and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, Japan Airlines Corp. on Nov. 13 posted a hefty group net loss of ¥131.2 billion for the April-September half and said it has applied for out-of-court debt restructuring as a stopgap measure to stay aloft.

It represents JAL's worst first-half loss since it merged with Japan Air System in 2002.

JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu said in the future the company needs to reduce the number of international flights, which have been the airline's main business for a long time.

How to reconstruct the struggling airline, which posted a record ¥99.04 billion group net loss in the April-June quarter, has been a focus of increasing public attention.