Press Release
JAL Group Route, Flight Frequency & Fleet Plan FY2009
Tokyo January 28, 2009: Today, the JAL Group announced its route, flight frequency and fleet plan for international passenger, domestic passenger and cargo operations for fiscal year 2009, the year beginning April 1, 2009 through to March 31, 2010 (subject to government approval).
Responding to weak demand, especially on international routes, resulting from the global economic slowdown, JAL aims to better match supply to demand by conducting a bold review of its network and flight frequency, whilst continuing to implement its fleet strategy of aircraft downsizing.
The airline group is also targeting greater operational efficiency and profitability by increasing the role of two of its lower overhead subsidiaries: JAL Express and J-AIR. In FY2009, JAL Express will start operating on international routes for the first time, and on domestic routes, J-AIR services using the cutting-edge Embraer 170 regional jet will be expanded.
1. International Operations
With the aim of improving profitability, the daily service between Osaka (Kansai) and London (Heathrow) will be suspended (already announced on Aug 7, 2008), while flight frequency between Tokyo (Narita) and London (Heathrow) will be doubled from 7 to 14 flights per week.
Flight frequency will decrease on three international routes. On the Tokyo - New York route flight frequency will decrease from 14 to 10 flights per week, on the Tokyo - Bangkok from 21 to 14 flights per week, and the Tokyo (Narita) - Seoul (Incheon) from 26 to 25 flights per week.
For added convenience, the number of flights for international passengers wishing to connect via Narita onto Osaka or Sapporo will be increased.
To improve profitability, seat supply on seven routes will be decreased through aircraft downsizing. For example, the smaller, more fuel efficient 777-200ER will replace the 747-400 currently used on the Tokyo - Sydney route.
The airline’s award-winning business class, the JAL Shell Flat Seat, will be introduced onto four more routes: Milan, Mexico, Rome and Vancouver. JAL’s very latest seats in first and business class - the JAL Suite and JAL Shell Flat Neo seat respectively - will be introduced on the Chicago and Los Angeles routes, as will the airline’s new Premium Economy service.
JAL Express, which up until now has only operated on Japan domestic routes will also start operating on international routes. This lower overheads JAL Group subsidiary will operate on 3 routes serving between China and Japan.
a. Flight Frequency Suspension
|
Route |
Flight Suspension |
Date effective |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - London (Heathrow) |
Decrease from 7 to 0 flights per week. (Already announced on Aug 7, 2008) |
March 29, 2008 - |
b. Flight Frequency Reduction
|
Route |
Frequency Reduction |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - New York |
Decrease from 14 to 10 flights per week (JL008/ JL007 suspended) |
March 30, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Bangkok |
Decrease from 21 to 14 flights per week (JL703/ JL704 suspended) |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Seoul (Incheon) |
Decrease from 26 to 25 flights per week (JL955/ JL956 suspended) |
March 29, 2009 - |
c. Flight Frequency Increase
|
Route |
Frequency Increase |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - London (Heathrow) |
Increase from 7 to 14 flights per week (JL403/ JL404 added) |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Osaka (Kansai) |
Increase from 0 to 7 flights per week (International connection service) |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Sapporo |
Increase from 7 to 14 flights per week (International connection service) |
April 1, 2009 - |
d．Aircraft Change
|
Route |
Current aircraft |
Aircraft after change |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Sydney |
747-400 |
777-200ER |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Brisbane |
747-400 |
767-300ER |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Shanghai (JL627/ 628 only) |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
March 29, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Manila (JL741/742 only) |
747-400 |
767-300ER |
July 1, 2009 - |
|
Nagoya (Chubu) - Guangzhou |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
August 1, 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Chicago |
747-400 |
777-300ER |
November 2009 - |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Los Angeles |
747-400 |
777-300ER |
November 2009 - |
e. Service Improvements
|
Route |
Details |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Vancouver |
Award-winning JAL Shell Flat Seat to be introduced into JAL Executive Class. |
September 1, 2009 -
|
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Vancouver- Mexico City |
||
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Milan |
Award-winning JAL Shell Flat Seat to be introduced into JAL Executive Class. |
November 2009 -
|
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Rome |
||
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Chicago |
Introduction of JAL Suite to first class, JAL Shell Flat Neo seat to business class, and Premium Economy to economy class. |
|
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Los Angeles |
f. Launch of International Operations by JAL Express
|
Route |
Date effective |
Remarks |
|
Tokyo (Narita) - Hangzhou |
May 08, 2009 |
|
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Hangzhou |
May 08, 2009 |
|
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Shanghai |
May 08, 2009 |
JL629/ JL620 |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Shanghai |
July 1, 2009 |
JL627/ JL628 |
2. Domestic Operations
Through a review of under-performing routes, aircraft renewal and downsizing, the JAL Group aims to improve profitability, and, through increased flight frequency using smaller aircraft, the airline group aims to increase customer convenience. J-AIR operations will be expanded once the lower overhead subsidiary starts using the cutting-edge Embraer 170 regional jet, starting in Feb 2009.
a. Route Suspension
|
Route |
Flight Suspension |
Date effective |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Memanbetsu |
1 to 0 flights per day |
April 1, 2009 |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Obihiro |
1 to 0 flights per day (Operated from June - September 2008, but will only be operated from July 17 - August 31, 2009) |
September 1, 2009 |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Kushiro |
||
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Aomori |
1 to 0 flights per day (Seasonal operation. Was only operated in October 2008). |
October 1, 2009 - |
|
Osaka (Kansai) - Asahikawa |
1 to 0 flights per day (Normal operations from April - September 2009). |
October 1, 2009 - |
b. Flight Frequency Reduction
|
Route |
Frequency Decrease |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Haneda) - Osaka (Kansai) |
Decrease from 7 to 6 flight per day |
April 1, 2009 - |
c. Flight Frequency Increase
|
Route |
Frequency Increase |
Date effective |
|
Tokyo (Haneda) - Matsuyama |
Increase from 4 to 5 flights per day Continuation of increase on November 2008 |
April 01, 2009 -
|
|
Osaka (Itami) - Hanamaki |
Increase from 2 to 3 flights per day |
|
|
Osaka (Itami) - Akita |
Increase from 1 to 2 flights per day |
|
|
Sapporo - Tokyo (Narita) |
Increase from 1 to 2 flights per day |
|
|
Fukuoka - Sendai |
Increase from 2 to 3 flights per day |
|
|
Fukuoka - Matsuyama |
Increase from 3 to 4 flights per day |
June 01, 2009 - |
|
Sapporo - Akita |
Increase from 2 to 3 flights per day |
October 01, 2009 - |
3. Cargo Operations
After looking at the demand on each route, JAL has made adjustments to its cargo network in terms of routing, flight frequency and the type of aircraft being operated, once again with the aim of securing profitability. Cargo flights to Manila will be suspended. Through changes to frequency and routings, JAL will start offering five flights a week to both Dalian and Tianjin, increasing the airline’s competitiveness in the northern China region. The airline is currently in talks with Nippon Cargo Airlines regarding code share operations in fiscal year 2009. An announcement will be made when a final decision has been made.
a. Flight Frequency Reduction*
|
Route |
Frequency Reduction |
Date effective |
|
Narita - Los Angeles |
Decrease from 5 to 4 flights per week |
March 29, 2009
|
|
Narita - (via Anchorage)- Amsterdam- Frankfurt - Narita |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Narita -Bangkok - Manila - Narita |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Narita -Jakarta - Kuala Lumpur - Narita |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Narita - Hong Kong - Nagoya (Chubu) |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Kansai - Dalian |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Kansai - Tianjin - Dalian - Narita |
Decrease from 1 to 0 flights per week |
|
|
Kansai - Taipei |
Decrease from 2 to 0 flights per week |
*All services to Manila suspended. Other destinations served by other routings.
b. Flight Frequency Increase
|
Route |
Frequency Increase |
Date effective |
|
Narita - Tianjin - Dalian - Kansai |
Increase from 1 to 4 flights per week |
March 29, 2009 |
c. Aircraft Change
|
Route |
Current |
Revised |
Date Effective |
|
Narita -Singapore - Bangkok -Nagoya(Chubu)- Narita |
747-400F on 3 flts per wk 767-300F on 3 flts per wk |
747-400F on 0 flts per wk 767-300F on 6 flts per wk |
March 29, 2009 |
|
Narita - Hong Kong |
747-400F on 4 flts per wk 767-300F on 2 flts per wk |
747-400F on 3 flts per wk 767-300F on 3 flts per wk |
|
|
Narita - Shanghai |
747-400F on 6 flts per wk 767-300F on 0 flts per wk |
747-400F on 5 flts per wk 767-300F on 1 flts per wk |
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