Press Release
JAL Group Announces Route, Flight Frequency and Fleet Plans for FY2010
Tokyo, April 28, 2010: Japan Airlines (JAL) announced today that revisions will be made to a part of the route, flight frequency and fleet plan for the first half of fiscal year 2010, and decided on plans for the second half of the year ending March 31, 2011.
JAL has restructured its overall network with the clear objective of returning to profitability as swiftly as possible by creating a solid business model that can withstand the fluctuations in economic conditions and by generating profits without overly relying on future traffic demand. This plan includes the retirement of the Boeing 747-400 and Airbus 300-600 aircraft by the end of this fiscal year, bold withdrawal from several overseas regions, and the drastic contraction in the size of operations. It is formulated to achieve within one year, substantial reductions in the airline’s fixed costs, a target which was initially planned to be accomplished over a period of 3 years.
The airline has decided to discontinue services on 15 international routes with 86 weekly roundtrip flights, as well as on 30 domestic routes with a maximum of 58* daily roundtrip flights. Totaling the changes made since fiscal year 2009, JAL will end operations on 28 international routes with the closure of 11 overseas bases while domestically, 50 routes will be terminated along with 8 offices. The international and domestic passenger capacity (measured in available seat kilometer) will as a result be reduced by 40% and 30% respectively compared to levels in fiscal year 2008. *56 roundtrip flights if excluding seasonally-operated flights
The extent to which the route and flight frequency plan has been streamlined is vital to achieving a swift revival of the JAL Group. JAL seeks the understanding of its customers who will be inconvenienced by the changes announced.
NOTE: The plans listed hereafter are subject to government approval.
A. INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER
While the overall scale of the airline’s international passenger operations will shrink by 40%, JAL will greatly expand the use of Haneda airport for international flights to maintain a global network with a focus on pivotal routes that can yield higher business demand.
Strengthening Narita Airport’s Hub Function
JAL will leverage on Narita airport as a global hub that serves excellently as a link between North America and Asia, and through detailed planning of flight schedules, provide transit passengers with much smoother transfers and convenience. Furthermore, with the use of JAL’s feeder services, it is convenient for passengers to connect between international flights at Narita and key domestic locations in Japan.
Strengthening of International Flights at Haneda
Capitalizing on Haneda airport’s strategic location, Japan Airlines plans to almost triple the number of international flights operating out from the airport that is conveniently situated in metropolitan Tokyo, from the current 5 daily flights to 14. In addition to the current short-haul flights within Asia operating during the convenient afternoon time belt, JAL intends to utilize late night and early morning slots at the airport to launch new routes to San Francisco, Honolulu, Paris and Bangkok. JAL aims to construct a well-balanced network by teaming high-traffic services from Haneda to the Americas, Europe and Asia, with its comprehensive connections to regions throughout Japan.
Options at Kansai, Osaka and Chubu, Nagoya
While JAL maintains its forte in operating short-haul Asia flights and flights to Honolulu from Kansai and Chubu airports, the airline plans to advance with the use of smaller aircraft to improve profitability. The aircraft configuration of Boeing 737-800 on the thriving Kansai=Gimpo (Seoul) route however, will be changed from a 144-seater to one with a capacity for 176 in order to capture the healthy demand on that route.
A1. Route suspension
|
Route |
Details |
Date Effective |
Remarks |
|
Narita (Tokyo) = Sao Paulo (via New York) |
Suspension of 2 weekly flights |
Sep 30, 2010 |
Closure of Sao Paulo office |
|
Narita = Amsterdam |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Sep 30, 2010 |
Closure of Amsterdam office |
|
Narita = Milan |
Suspension of 4 weekly flights |
Sep 30, 2010 |
Closure of Milan office |
|
Narita = Rome |
Suspension of 3 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
Closure of Rome office |
|
Narita = Brisbane |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Sep 30, 2010 (Dep. from Narita) |
Closure of Brisbane office |
|
Narita = Denpasar (Bali) |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
Closure of Denpasar office |
|
Narita - Kona - Honolulu - Narita |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 30, 2010 |
Closure of Kona office |
|
Kansai (Osaka) = Denpasar (Bali) |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Sep 30, 2010 (Dep. from Kansai) |
Closure of Denpasar office |
|
Kansai = Guam |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 (Dep. from Kansai) |
|
|
Kansai = Hong Kong |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Kansai = Guangzhou |
Suspension of 3 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Kansai = Beijing |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Chubu (Nagoya) =Bangkok |
Suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Chubu = Guangzhou |
Suspension of 4 weekly flights. |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
*The above 14 route suspensions excludes the termination of Narita=San Francisco once the Haneda=San Francisco route commences.
** The number of closures of overseas offices in this release is 7. 4 other office closures have already been announced - Hangzhou, Qingdao, Xiamen, Mexico City.
A2. Flight frequency reduction
|
Route |
Details |
Date Effective |
Affected Flights |
|
Narita = Incheon (Seoul) |
Decrease from 21 to 14 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
JL955/956 |
|
Narita = Guam |
Decrease from 14 to 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 (Dep. from Narita) |
JO949/940 |
A3. Route suspension and flight frequency reductions upon commencement of Haneda services
|
Route |
Details |
Date Effective |
Affected Flights |
|
Narita = San Francisco |
Service suspension of 7 weekly flights |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
|
Narita = Beijing |
Decrease from 14 to 7 weekly flights |
Oct 1, 2010 |
JL863/864* |
|
Narita = Hong Kong |
Decrease from 14 to 7 weekly flights |
Oct 31, 2010 |
JL731/732 |
|
Narita = Taipei |
Decrease from 21 to 14 weekly flights |
Oct 31, 2010 |
JL801/806 |
*Subject to approval by civil aviation authorities of Japan and China
**Total number of flight reductions on the above 5 routes in tables A2 and A3 is 35 per week.
A4. Inaugural routes and flight frequency increase (from October 31, 2010)
|
Route |
Details |
Remarks |
|
Haneda (Tokyo) = Gimpo (Seoul) |
Increase from 14 to 21 weekly flights |
|
|
Haneda = Beijing |
Increase from 7 to 14 weekly flights |
Subject to approval by civil aviation authorities of Japan and China |
|
Haneda = Hongqiao (Shanghai) |
Increase from 7 to 14 weekly flights |
|
|
Haneda = Hong Kong |
Increase from 3 to 7 weekly flights *Change of flight timings from late night to afternoon. |
Dates of temporary suspension: Sep 30 - Oct 30. (Haneda dep.) Oct 1 - Oct 30. (Hong Kong dep.) |
|
Haneda = Songshan (Taipei) |
Increase from 0 to 14 weekly flights |
New route |
|
Haneda = San Francisco |
Increase from 0 to 7 weekly flights |
New route |
|
Haneda = Honolulu |
Increase from 0 to 7 weekly flights |
New route |
|
Haneda = Bangkok |
Increase from 0 to 7 weekly flights |
New route |
|
Haneda = Paris |
New route |
A5. Aircraft change
|
Route |
Current Aircraft |
Aircraft after change |
Date Effective |
Affected Flights |
|
Narita = Vancouver |
747-400 |
777-200ER |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Narita = Honolulu |
747-400 |
767-300ER |
Oct 1, 2010 |
JO072 / 071 |
|
Oct 31, 2010 |
JO074 / 073 |
|||
|
Narita = Bangkok |
777-200ER |
767-300ER |
Oct 1, 2010 (Dep. from Narita) |
JO707/ 708 |
|
Narita = Singapore |
777-200ER |
767-300ER |
Oct 1, 2010 (Dep. from Narita) |
JL711 / 712 |
|
Narita = Shanghai |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
Oct 1, 2010 |
JL877 / 874 |
|
Narita = Beijing |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
Oct 1, 2010 (Dep. from Narita) |
JL869 / 860 |
|
Haneda = Hongqiao (Shanghai) |
777-200ER |
767-300ER |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Haneda = Gimpo |
747-400 |
777-200ER |
Oct 1 to Oct 30, 2010 |
JL091 / 092 |
|
777-200ER |
767-300ER |
Oct 31, 2010 |
JL093 / 094 |
|
|
Kansai = Honolulu |
747-400 |
767-300ER |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
|
Kansai = Shanghai |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
Oct 1, 2010 |
JL891 / 894 |
|
Chubu = Honolulu |
747-400 |
767-300ER |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
|
Chubu = Shanghai |
767-300ER |
737-800 |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
B. DOMESTIC PASSENGER
Aimed at improving profitability of the business in the face of low traffic demand, domestic passenger operations will be reduced by 30% in capacity, achieved through flight discontinuations and frequency reductions on underperforming routes and by means of using smaller, more efficient jets.
B1. Route suspension
|
Route |
Details |
Date Effective |
Remarks |
Operator |
|
Chubu (Nagoya) = Sendai |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 1, 2010 |
|
JEX |
|
Chubu = Aomori |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Chubu = Kagoshima |
Suspension of 3 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JEX |
|
Komaki (Nagoya) = Obihiro |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Yamagata |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Fukuoka |
Suspension of 5 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Nagasaki |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Akita |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 1, 2011 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Matsuyama |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 1, 2011 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Niigata |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 27, 2011 |
Closure of Komaki office in Nagoya |
J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Kochi |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 27, 2011 |
J-AIR |
|
|
Komaki = Kumamoto |
Suspension of 3 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 27, 2011 |
J-AIR |
|
|
Sapporo = Yamagata |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Kansai (Osaka) = Fukuoka |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
J-AIR |
|
Itami (Osaka) = Misawa |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Itami = Matsuyama |
Suspension of 5 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAC |
|
Hiroshimanishi = Miyazaki |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
Closure of Hiroshimanishi office |
JAC |
|
Hiroshimanishi = Kagoshima |
Suspension of 3 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
JAC |
|
|
Kagoshima = Okayama |
Suspension of 2 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAC |
|
Kagoshima = Takamatsu |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JAC |
|
Naha (Okinawa) = Matsuyama |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Oct 31, 2010 |
|
JTA |
|
Sapporo = Izumo |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 27, 2011 |
Operated annually during July and August only. |
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Sapporo = Tokushima |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Mar 27, 2011 |
||
|
Sapporo = Kushiro* |
Suspension of 6 daily roundtrip flights. |
To be excluded from JAL Group operations* |
|
HAC |
|
Sapporo = Hakodate* |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Operated annually from December to March only. |
HAC |
|
|
Okadama = Hakodate* |
Suspension of 3 daily roundtrip flights. |
Closure of Okadama office |
HAC |
|
|
Okadama = Kushiro* |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
HAC |
||
|
Hakodate = Asahikawa* |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
|
HAC |
|
|
Hakodate = Kushiro* |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
|
HAC |
|
|
Hakodate = Okushiri* |
Suspension of 1 daily roundtrip flights. |
Closure of Okushiri office |
HAC |
*The JAL Group is considering to reduce its stake in HAC following which HAC operated flights will not be considered part of JAL Group operations.
** Operators: JTA - Japan TransOcean Air, JEX - JAL Express, JAC - Japan Air Commuter, RAC - Ryuku Air Commuter
B2. Flight frequency reduction (from October 1, 2010)
|
Route |
Details |
Remarks |
Operator |
|
Kansai = Fukuoka |
Decrease from 2 to 1 daily roundtrip flights |
Service suspension from Oct 31, 2010. |
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Kansai =Sapporo |
Decrease from 5 to 3 daily roundtrip flights |
|
|
|
Kansai = Naha |
Decrease from 5 to 4 daily roundtrip flights |
|
|
|
Sapporo = Memanbetsu |
Decrease from 4 to 3 daily roundtrip flights |
|
JAL / J-AIR / HAC |
|
Sapporo = Aomori |
Decrease from 2 to 1 daily roundtrip flights |
2 daily flights from Oct 31, 2010. |
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Chubu = Sapporo |
Decrease from 6 to 4 daily roundtrip flights |
|
|
|
Chubu = Kagoshima |
Decrease from 3 to 1 daily roundtrip flights |
Service suspension from Oct 31, 2010. |
JEX |
|
Komaki = Akita |
Decrease from 2 to 1 daily roundtrip flights |
2 daily flights from Oct 31, 2010. |
JAL / J-AIR |
|
Komaki = Matsuyama |
Decrease from 2 to 1 daily roundtrip flights |
2 daily flights from Oct 31, 2010. |
|
|
Komaki = Fukuoka |
Decrease from 5 to 4 daily roundtrip flights |
Service suspension from Oct 31, 2010. |
|
|
Komaki = Kumamoto |
Decrease from 3 to 2 daily roundtrip flights |
3 daily flights from Oct 31, 2010. |
|
|
Fukuoka = Naha |
Decrease from 6 to 5 daily roundtrip flights |
|
JAL / J-AIR / JTA |
|
Fukuoka = Sendai |
Decrease from 3 to 2 daily roundtrip flights |
|
JAL / J-AIR |
* Flight frequency reduction plans for beyond October 31 is planned to be announced at the end of August 2010.
END
20100428_JAL Announces Route, Flight and Fleet Plan_FINAL.pdf
