JAL vows to return to black by fall

Japan Airlines Corp.'s new chairman promised to return the struggling airline to profitability in autumn while it still has government funds.

Kazuo Inamori acknowledged that JAL's performance has yet to improve since filing for bankruptcy protection in January. But he told reporters Tuesday the airline will speed up its turnaround plan for a monthly profit in the fall.

"We have received huge injections of government funds via the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan," said Inamori, who was handpicked by the government to steer the company out of woods. "We must return the carrier to operating on its own by generating profits while we still have the funds' leeway."