Japan Airlines chairman Kazuo Inamori said he would like to made a quick decision on which alliance JAL will go forward with. The airline will choose between American Airlines’s and Delta Air Lines’s offers, as the recently bankrupt carrier seeks to turnaround its operation. “We have to rapidly come up with a conclusion,” said Inamori.
Delta and American are fighting hard to win-over JAL, since the carrier offers vast codeshare opportunities in Japan and other parts of Asia. “We’re neutral on which airline to choose at this point,” said Masaru Onishi. “We will take a fresh look under the new JAL structure.”
American and Oneworld partners are offering JAL a package valued at $2 billion, while Delta is offering $1 billion. However, experts and JAL employees have hinted that the carrier is leaning towards picking Delta and its SkyTeam alliance. SkyTeam is the second largest airline alliance, behind Star Alliance, but is larger than Oneworld – whose only footprint in Asia is Cathay Pacific. JAL is currently a member of Oneworld.
The question lingering – how soon is “quick?” In the past few months, the decision was said to be only a few weeks away, yet JAL’s entrance into bankruptcy has changed the timeframe. With management wiped clean, and now lead by one of Japan’s most respected entrepreneurs / business leaders, I trust JAL to come out with a decision soon.
