June 21 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airline System Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co., the country's two biggest carriers, have together cancelled 75 domestic flights today to avoid flying into Typhoon Dianmu, which reached Japan's southern islands.

Japan Airlines has cancelled 36 domestic flights while All Nippon cancelled 39 flights until 12 noon, the two airlines said in separate statements.

The flight cancellations come as Japan Airlines and All Nippon are both trying to recover from the slump in air traveling caused by last year's SARS outbreak. Japan Airlines reported a record loss of 88.6 billion yen for the year ended March 31, and expects a pickup in business travel to help it return to profit. All Nippon said profit may slump this year.

The center of the typhoon, with wind of up to 160 kilometers (99 miles) an hour, is scheduled to reach southern Japan's Shikoku island at about 9:00 a.m. today, the country's Meteorological Agency said, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

Three people drowned and one person went missing after huge waves hit southern Japan's Okinawa island, the AFP said.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan Airlines' shares rose 1.8 percent to 342 yen at 9:35 a.m. while All Nippon's shares advanced 1.1 percent to 354 yen.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kanna Takeuchi in Tokyo ktakeuchi@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 20, 2004 20:37 EDT