British Airways, Japan Airlines to Tie-up

It’s been announced that British Airways and Japan Airlines have applied to form a venture on routes between Europe and Japan. The venture would allow the two carriers to coordinate schedules, share revenue and potentially add new flights. While British Airways, which is part of the International Airlines Group (IAG), has been in contact with the European Union, Japan Airlines has sought antitrust immunity from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Both of these airlines are members of the Oneworld alliance, which also includes American Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. The group won a battle with rival SkyTeam, an alliance led by Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, over which team would get Japan Airlines in 2010. The Japanese airline was dealing with bankruptcy at the time. After axing one-third of its workforce, receiving funding from Japan’s largest banks and grounding planes, the carrier exited bankruptcy last year. It’s planning an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to 1 trillion yen as soon as September, according to two people familiar with the situation.

IAG, which was created by the merging of British Airways and Spanish Iberia last year, aims to increase its Asian presence. The group currently designates about 31% of its capacity to North America and only 9% to Asia-Pacific services. British Airways operates a daily service between Heathrow Airport and Narita Airport in Tokyo, while a service to Haneda Airport in Tokyo is offered five times a week. Japan Airlines operates a daily service between Narita and Heathrow, Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, while a service to Moscow is offered three times a week.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh says that the group has very close ties with Japan Airlines and looks forward to improving the relationship. Although the Japanese aviation market has faced some difficulties in recent years, they are confident in the business outlook for Japan Airlines and the overall future prospects of the market.

IAG London-based spokeswoman Lorena Monsalves says that the group will look at investing in Japan Airlines closely. Since the antitrust immunity hasn’t been approved yet, the group can’t confirm which routes could be included in the joint venture, she added. The group also says that the joint venture will benefit customers by offering better connections between Europe and Japan, more flight choices, and improved frequent flyer benefits. The revenue-sharing deal would allow the company to compete more effectively with other carriers as well.

Japan Airlines president and chairman-elect Masaru Onishi says that the airline is looking forward to the potential customer benefits foreseen from the synergies with British Airways. Their customers travelling over the Pacific Ocean have benefited from the joint venture with American Airlines, which started last April, and they expect the closer relationship with the British airline to provide greater convenience and options between Europe and Japan. The carrier seeks to continue enhancing customer experiences overall, including more cooperation with their quality partners as the industry becomes favourable to change.

Meanwhile, Japan Airlines has also announced its first codeshare deal with Air Berlin, which is a member-elect and is due to be a full member of Oneworld next month. The agreement allows for the six flights a week between Frankfurt and Berlin to use Japan Airline’s flight code. This adds another connection option for Japan Airlines customers visiting the German capital.