JAL to axe freighter services
Struggling Japanese carrier blames severe market conditions
Struggling Japan Airlines (JAL) is to axe its freighter services, blaming “severe” market conditions.
JAL announced yesterday that it would cease the services operated by 10 freighters – a mixture of B747-400s and B767-300s, by October, but added that it would still offer bellyhold capacity on its passenger flights.
The carrier said: “Market conditions for international cargo business are expected to remain severe, and to adapt to this JAL Cargo will shift to exclusively utilising the belly space of passenger flights.”
JAL said this would mean a new cargo business structure that aimed to “secure a stable profit and that can boost the recovery of JAL’s financial standing”.
The airline will offer cargo space on 508 weekly passenger flights plying 56 international routes and 134 domestic routes with 904 daily one-way flights.
JAL pointed out that its passenger flights provided three times the capacity available on its scheduled freighter services and said it would maintain freight services to all current cargo destinations, except Anchorage, Alaska.
The decision follows the collapse of talks with NYK over a merger with its air freight subsidiary, Nippon Cargo Airlines.
The two Japanese carriers started talks last August to examine the potential synergies of merging the two operations.
JAL reported a loss of ¥178 billion (US$1.9bn) for the nine months to 31 December, adding to a ¥1.9 billion loss over the same period last year.
In January, it filed for court-protected bankruptcy and applied to the state-owned Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation for restructuring support.
JAL announced yesterday that it would cease the services operated by 10 freighters – a mixture of B747-400s and B767-300s, by October, but added that it would still offer bellyhold capacity on its passenger flights.
The carrier said: “Market conditions for international cargo business are expected to remain severe, and to adapt to this JAL Cargo will shift to exclusively utilising the belly space of passenger flights.”
JAL said this would mean a new cargo business structure that aimed to “secure a stable profit and that can boost the recovery of JAL’s financial standing”.
The airline will offer cargo space on 508 weekly passenger flights plying 56 international routes and 134 domestic routes with 904 daily one-way flights.
JAL pointed out that its passenger flights provided three times the capacity available on its scheduled freighter services and said it would maintain freight services to all current cargo destinations, except Anchorage, Alaska.
The decision follows the collapse of talks with NYK over a merger with its air freight subsidiary, Nippon Cargo Airlines.
The two Japanese carriers started talks last August to examine the potential synergies of merging the two operations.
JAL reported a loss of ¥178 billion (US$1.9bn) for the nine months to 31 December, adding to a ¥1.9 billion loss over the same period last year.
In January, it filed for court-protected bankruptcy and applied to the state-owned Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation for restructuring support.
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