Tokyo, March 10 (AFP): Japan Airlines, Asia?s biggest airline, announced a new business plan today under which it will cut 5,900 jobs in three years and appoint a new CEO.

Under the new plan, jobs would be cut by the end of March 2008 compared with a previous target for 4,500 job losses by March 2007.

The airline also said president Toshiyuki Shinmachi, 62, would replace Isao Kaneko, 67, as the chief executive officer.

?At this difficult juncture, the JAL group will build a business structure that can produce profits in any environment,? the airline said in a statement.

JAL also said it had raised its net profit forecast to 27 billion yen ($257 million) for the year to March 2005 from its earlier estimate of 23 billion yen, as the effects of cost-cutting offset easier revenues.

The company revised down its sales forecast to 2.12 trillion yen from 2.13 trillion yen. ?Because of a stagnant demand, our sales forecast is now lower than our earlier estimate... But a cut in costs outpaced the sales decline.?

Last month, JAL said it had returned to profit in the nine months to December although it suffered a net loss in the December quarter on rising fuel costs. Compared with a few years ago, the demand for overseas travel has recovered, it said.