WIRE REPORTS

Boeing Executive: No Plans To Finance 787 Deliveries For 2011 Automated Trader Chile's Lan Airlines, Japan Airlines Corp. and Royal Air Maroc are also due to receive 787s next year. Kostya Zolotusky, managing director, capital markets ... and more » Daily Rosetta Japan Airlines to Slash 16000 Employees Daily Rosetta Japan Airlines Corp. submitted its bankruptcy plans for approval on Tuesday, a restructuring plan that includes slashing roughly one-third of its workforce ... and more » Polar Air Cargo to plead guilty in price fixing case Reuters AX), Japan Airlines (JALFQ.PK), Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), Air France (AIRF.PA) and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd (ELAL.TA) and Nippon Cargo Airlines Co ... and more » Juicing the yen Saipan Tribune Just to share some business news with you, details of the Japan Airlines bankruptcy hit the press this week, and it's dramatic stuff. ... Transport and Logistics News Japan Airlines to lay off 16200 Transport and Logistics News In a last-ditch effort to save the financially stricken airline, Japan Airlines (JAL) management has announced a restructuring plan that will cut 16200 jobs ... and more » Airlines Stocks are set to Rise on Thursday Morning LB News American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR) announced it would move the regional office of Asia-Pacific to Tokyo's JAL Building, the headquarters of Japan Airlines. ... and more » JAL to lay off 16000 staff? Aircargo - Asia Pacific Struggling Japan Airlines is tipped to lay off 16000 staff as part of a turnaround plan, also involving route closures and financial assistance in the form ... and more » AFP Strong yen boosts Japan travel demand: executive AFP Bastian also said Delta is no longer in discussion with Japan Airlines over a possible alliance. Delta and its SkyTeam partners tried to invite JAL to join ... and more » Delta Airlines: Strong Yen Brings More Passengers Wall Street Journal The executive also said Delta is no longer in discussions with Japan Airlines Corp. over a possible alliance. Last year Delta and its SkyTeam partners tried ... and more » Delta upbeat on Japan business amid strong yen The Associated Press Bastian also said he was disappointed that Japan Airlines chose to stay with American Airlines and spurned Delta as its alliance partner. ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Aug 31 Japan Airlines to cut workforce in restructuring plan Japan Airlines on Tuesday submitted its bankruptcy plans for approval, a proposal that includes slashing roughly one-third of its workforce. The plan includes the loss of roughly 16,000 jobs; a 521.5 billion yen ($ 6.2 billion) debt waiver, mainly from financial institutions; and a 350 billion yen ($ 4.2 billion) investment in the airline by the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan. (CNN) Aug 28 Low-cost airlines fuel competition Japan's tightly regulated skies have been seeing some changes in recent years, with a wave of low-cost carriers from Asia entering the market and domestic budget airlines rising to intensify the competition. Observers are looking carefully at the impact on the Japanese airline industry, especially what it means for All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Corp. When JAL filed for protection from its creditors in January, transport minister Seiji Maehara said he would take a close look at whether Japan will need two megacarriers in the future, when competition will only grow more intense. (Japan Times) Aug 26 All Nippon Airways is Japan's top carrier: Nikkei Japan's All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA) became the nation's top air carrier in June, dethroning flagship carrier Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) on passenger volume and cargo, the Nikkei reported Thursday. ANA's passenger figures for both domestic and international flights in June reached 3.65 million, up 10 percent from a year ago, the business daily said. JAL, going through a court-led restructuring process after filing for a bankruptcy protection, carried 3.55 million passengers in the month, marking a one-percent decline on-year, according to the Nikkei. (AFP) Aug 16 ANA getting a frequent-flier boost from JAL defectors All Nippon Airways Co. intends to boost profit from its 20.5 million-member frequent flier program after adding twice the number of new cardholders as Japan Airlines Corp., which is under bankruptcy protection. "We aim to increase profit every year," Haruo Konishi, a manager in ANA's loyalty marketing section, said in an interview Friday. The loyalty-card unit made a profit last fiscal year, when the overall carrier lost money, he said, without elaboration. (Japan Times) Aug 16 Poor management caused JAL's filing for bankruptcy, panel says Poor management and a lack of risk awareness are what caused Japan Airlines Corp. to file for bankruptcy protection in January, according to conclusions by a panel studying JAL's management practices, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. The five-member panel said, however, that it was difficult to place any criminal or civil liability on the former leaders of the company, which is undergoing a state-backed rehabilitation process. The panel said the management failed to detect that the airline was in financial crisis because of the firm's compartmentalized administrative structure in terms of corporate planning, sales and marketing, and other operations, according to the sources. (AP) Aug 12 Japan Airlines reportedly to be solvent by March Japan Airlines Corp. now expects to be solvent again by March 2011, earlier than previously thought, according to a Japanese news report Thursday. The Nikkei business daily reported that JAL has made rapid progress on cost cutting and seen steady passenger revenue, sending its April-June operating profit to 38.8 billion yen ($455.6 million), which it now plans to use to eliminate its negative net worth. (MarketWatch) Aug 6 Hotel Okura to purchase Japan Airlines' hotel unit Hotel Okura Co. announced Friday that it has decided to purchase a majority stake in JAL Hotels Co., a hotel operating unit of struggling Japan Airlines Corp. Hotel Okura, based in Tokyo, said it will acquire 79.6 percent of the shares in JAL Hotels in late September. It said it will basically keep on 980 employees of JAL Hotels. (AP) Jul 17 JAL starts selling off one-third of its fleet Japan Airlines Corp. has started the process of selling 95 midsize and large aircraft, including jumbo jets, as part of its business turnaround program, sources have said. The figure is equivalent to one-third of all the planes in the fleet of JAL, which is undergoing a court-supervised restructuring. The airline hopes to complete the aircraft sale by the end of this year, along with the sale of 18 spare engines, the sources said. (Japan Times) Jul 10 More JAL wreckage found near crash site Large pieces of the Japan Airlines jumbo jet that crashed in August 1985 into Osutaka Ridge in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 people, have been found still scattered near the accident site, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Dozens of pieces, including one more than a meter long and appearing to be part of a wing, were found in the woods on a ridge a few hundred meters from the main accident site. After checking photos taken by the Yomiuri, JAL's press bureau said there is little doubt that the newly discovered pieces belonged to the crashed plane. (Yomiuri) Jul 9 Female airline captain a first A copilot of JAL Express Co. became Japan's first female captain Friday after passing the government's qualification screening. Ari Fuji, 42, is scheduled to make her maiden flight as a captain next Monday, from Osaka to Sendai, according to the airline, which is wholly owned by Japan Airlines International Co. (Japan Times) Jul 2 JAL's negative net worth hits 950 billion yen The government-backed turnaround body serving as bankruptcy administrator for Japan Airlines Corp. said the carrier's liabilities exceeded its assets by 950 billion yen ($10.7 billion) as of the end of March. The figure was almost 100 billion yen greater than its initial estimate. (Asahi) Jun 30 JAL's negative net worth reaches around 1 tril. yen Japan Airlines Corp., now undergoing a state-backed rehabilitation process, said Wednesday its negative net worth -- liabilities in excess of assets -- has expanded to about 1 trillion yen. The figure, including capital deficits at two subsidiaries, has grown because of costs involved in a review of the airline's flights and routes as well as a reexamination of assets, according to JAL and the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, the state-backed administrator overseeing the airline's rehabilitation. (AP) Jun 23 Japan Airlines to encourage early retirement of 3,300 more employees Japan Airlines Corp. plans to encourage around 3,300 more group employees to take early retirement during the current fiscal year through next March, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. JAL, which is undergoing a state-backed rehabilitation process, is expected to start soliciting the bulk of the additional early retirement applications in autumn or later, the sources said. The move is part of the deficit-ridden airline's program to eliminate about 16,000 jobs in fiscal 2010 as part of efforts to turn itself around after filing for bankruptcy protection in January. (AP) Jun 13 JAL eyes selling all hotel operations to Hotel Okura Struggling Japan Airlines Corp. plans to sell all of its group's hotel operations to Hotel Okura Co. for about 5 billion to 6 billion yen as part of its restructuring, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday. JAL, which had earlier planned to sell only its hotel operating unit JAL Hotels Co., will aim to strike a deal on the new plan with the major Japanese hotel operator by the end of this month, the sources told Kyodo News. JAL Hotels alone operates 41 hotels in Japan and 17 hotels overseas, mainly in cities JAL flies to and from. JAL also engages in hotel operations through other group companies. (AP) Jun 1 JAL hotel reopens under Hilton Hilton Worldwide on Tuesday opened Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk in the city of Fukuoka, taking over a Japan Airline Corp. group inn. The JAL group is undergoing bankruptcy procedures. Hilton has removed the JAL logo from the 35-story hotel, which has 1,052 rooms, and plans to invest ¥2 billion to renew the lounge, leisure facilities and other shared space. (Japan Times) May 31 JAL ends all flights in and out of Kobe Japan Airline Corp. terminated all of its flights Monday at Kobe Airport as part of its restructuring. JAL ended flights between Kobe and Shin-Chitose Airport in Hokkaido and Naha and Ishigaki airports in Okinawa. JAL's withdrawal is a blow to the money-losing Kobe Airport, which is expected to suffer operating losses for both fiscal 2009 and 2010. The airport will lose much of the its landing fees, a pillar of its operations. In 2009, JAL flights accounted about 35 percent of its landing fees of ¥690 million. (Japan Times) May 18 KDDI service to offer JAL miles Japan Airlines Corp., which is restructuring under bankruptcy protection, will give frequent-flyer miles to users of a mobile phone service starting in June using the network of KDDI Corp. The carrier will give users as many as five miles for each ¥100 spent, according to a statement released Tuesday. Inphonix Inc., a closely held Tokyo-based company, will sell the phones and provide customer support, the statement said. (Japan Times) May 18 Japan Airlines to reduce Bangkok-bound flights due to unrest Japan Airlines Corp. said Tuesday it will temporarily reduce its flights from Japan to Bangkok in June due to a sharp decline in passengers amid political unrest in Thailand. At least for the month of June, flights from Osaka will be reduced to four per week, while those from Nagoya will be cut to three, JAL said in a statement. JAL operates seven weekly flights from these cities to the Thai capital. (AP) May 6 Haneda airport, JAL rank 1st on on-time arrival lists Tokyo's Haneda airport and Japan Airlines topped the on-time arrival lists for airports and airlines in 2009, according to a recently released report by U.S.-based information services company Conducive Technology Corp. According to the report covering 48 airports and 40 airlines, 90.78 percent of passengers traveling to Haneda airport and 90.95 percent of flights operated by JAL arrived no more than 15 minutes later than scheduled. (AP) Apr 28 JAL to cut 45 more overseas, domestic routes in turnaround efforts Japan Airlines Corp., now undergoing a state-backed rehabilitation process, said Wednesday it will cut 45 more international and domestic routes from late September through March next year as part of its efforts to swiftly restore the carrier to profitability. As the airline works out details of rehabilitation measures including the route cuts, the government-backed turnaround body said JAL's submission of its plan to the Tokyo District Court may be delayed from its initial target of late June. (AP) Apr 26 JAL recovery looks gloomy / Trustees seek further route cuts as local govts protest Dark clouds loom over the ongoing rehabilitation efforts by Japan Airlines, which is restructuring under bankruptcy protection. The struggling major carrier is likely to extend a June 30 deadline for submission of its rehabilitation plan to the Tokyo District Court by about two months. As the rehabilitation plan has gradually taken shape, a number of prefectural governments with local airports to which JAL has decided to scrap flight services have voiced their opposition. (Yomiuri) Apr 21 Japanese airlines resume flights to Europe Japanese airlines said Wednesday they had resumed normal flights to Europe, ending a nearly week-long suspension of air travel to the region caused by a thick plume of ash from an Icelandic volcano. Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA), however, warned passengers that dramatic changes to European weather systems and conditions related to the Eyjafjoell volcano could ground flights again in the future. Distressed Europe-bound passengers welcomed the news with applause, and quickly formed long lines in front of check-in counters at Narita Airport near Tokyo, the main international gateway to Japan. (Reuters) Apr 20 2 JAL flights from Europe arrive at Narita with 500 on board Two Japan Airlines flights from Moscow and Rome arrived Tuesday at Narita airport outside Tokyo carrying a total of some 500 travelers, including those stranded in Europe due to a massive grounding of flights caused by a volcanic eruption in Iceland. JAL Flight 442, a Boeing 777, from Moscow arrived at Narita International Airport at around 8:30 a.m. with some 180 passengers on board, becoming the first flight to be operated by a Japanese airline to and from Europe since last Thursday. JAL said the plane took a detour to avoid volcanic ash on the flight course. (AP) Apr 19 Wobbly JAL still looking for credible rehab plan to unlock loans The banks that the carrier is hoping to borrow from remain unconvinced that the current draft, which includes more cuts to routes and personnel, will ensure its survival. Japan Airlines Corp. is still struggling to work out a corporate rehabilitation plan some three months after filing for bankruptcy protection. JAL, which has until the end of June to come up with a viable rehabilitation plan, is now looking at withdrawing from 47 routes - 31 domestic and 16 international - sometime after October. It may also ax 16,452 jobs, or nearly one-third of its workforce, by the end of fiscal 2010. (Japan Times) Apr 14 ANA prospers while rival suffers Business was booming for All Nippon Airways Co. in February as ailing rival Japan Airlines Corp. suffered its second successive double-digit fall in international passenger numbers. JAL said Monday that the number of passengers on international routes stood at 804,191 in February, down 10.3 percent from the same month in 2009. Passenger numbers fell 10.7 percent in January. (Asahi) [ More... ]