TOKYO: Asia's largest carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL), said Monday it would temporarily reduce flights in the region due to lower demand caused by the global economic crisis.

The number of round-trip flights between Narita International Airport, the main gateway to Tokyo, and Beijing will be cut from 19 to 14 a week between August 1 and October 24, the company said in a statement.

JAL will also reduce the number of weekly flights between Narita and Seoul from 28 to 21 between July 1 and October 24. There are to be other cuts on its Narita routes to Taipei, Shanghai and New Delhi.

It will also cut flights between Haneda, another Tokyo airport, and Hong Kong in September and October, and between Kansai in western Japan and Seoul from August 1 to October 24. It will reduce services between Kansai and Shanghai over the same period.

'Due to the impact of the recession, a recovery in demand for flights has been delayed and we plan to secure profitability by adjusting our supply capacity,' JAL said in a statement.

A company spokesman said the airline would raise the number of flights to current levels following these periods.

The International Air Transport Association said last week that the Asia-Pacific, which is forecast to lose 3.3 billion dollars in 2009, or more than a third of global losses, may see a recovery next year.