Jak podaje ATW po Dlecie i AA takze BA wyrazilo zainteresowanie zacieśnieniem współpracy z JAL
British Airways said Friday that it has gotten involved in American Airlines' talks with Japan Airlines as part of an effort to keep JAL in the oneworld fold, while Japan's new government indicated it may not be fully supportive of the carrier's restructuring plan.
JAL confirmed last week that it was in talks with both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines regarding one of those carriers potentially taking a stake and said it hoped to reach accord on a tie-up by mid-October (ATWOnline, Sept. 16). BA on Friday confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that it also is engaged in talks with JAL, which a spokesperson said is "valuable to us as part of oneworld." The paper reported that other oneworld carriers are involved in talks about possible further cooperation, driven by fear that a JAL/DL deal could lead it to jump to SkyTeam, which lacks a Japanese affiliate..
Meanwhile, JAL's restructuring plan may have to be revised in the wake of the Democratic Party of Japan's decisive defeat of the long-entrenched Liberal Democratic Party in national elections. The new government is reviewing LPD policies and financial help for JAL appears to be part of the examination.
While JAL is a private carrier, it has been receiving loans from the Development Bank of Japan to mitigate its steep losses, including a ¥99 billion ($1.09 billion) deficit for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30 (ATWOnline, Aug. 10). The former government established a panel to which JAL is required to report regarding its restructuring as a condition for receiving the aid and the panel signaled support for a planned 14% workforce reduction.
But Seiji Maehara, in his first press conference as transport minister, said last Thursday that the DPJ government "would like to go back to the drawing board" on the JAL oversight panel. "I would like to hear advice from a variety of viewpoints regarding Japan's aviation policy," he told reporters, adding that he wants to "take a thorough look at whether the plan to restructure JAL can realistically be implemented."
JAL reportedly is planning to seek an additional ¥100 billion in government-backed loans in coming months. DPJ swept to victory in part by promising voters to be less business-friendly and more consumer/worker-oriented, leading to speculation that it may be wary of JAL's planned job cuts.
ATW Daily News