Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL) is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo"s Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), as well as Nagoya"s Chubu Centrair International Airport and Osaka"s Kansai International Airport. The airline and four of its subsidiaries (J-Air, JAL Express, JALways, and Japan Transocean Air) are members of the Oneworld airline alliance.

History

Japan Air Lines Co., Ltd. was established on August 1, 1951, with the government of Japan recognizing the need for a reliable air transportation system to help Japan grow in the aftermath of the World War II. On October 25 1951, Japan"s first post-war domestic airline service was inaugurated On August 1, 1953, the Diet of Japan passed the Japan Air Lines Company Act, forming a new state-owned Japan Air Lines on October 1, which assumed all assets and liabilities of its private predecessor. International service began in 1954, following by many new international destinations established during the 1960s. In 1972, under the 45/47 system, the so-called "aviation constitution" enacted by the Japanese government, JAL was granted flag carrier status to operate international routes. By 1965, over half of the JAL"s revenue was being generated by transpacific routes to the United States, and the airline was further lobbying the United States for fifth freedom rights to fly transatlantic routes from the East Coast.

Japan began considering airline deregulation in the late 1970s, with the government announcing the abandoning of the 45/47 system in 1985. In 1987, Japan Airlines was completely privatized, and the other two airlines in Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Air System (JAS), were permitted to freely compete with JAL on domestic and international routes. In October 1990, Japan Air Charter was established, and in September 1996 an agreement with The Walt Disney Company was announced, making Japan Airlines the official airline of Tokyo Disneyland. In October 1990, Japan Air Charter was established, and in September 1996 an agreement with The Walt Disney Company was announced, making Japan Airlines the official airline of Tokyo Disneyland. On April 1, 2004, JAL changed its name to Japan Airlines International and JAS changed its name to Japan Airlines Domestic. On April 1, 2008, JAL merged the operations of its subsidiary Japan Asia Airways (JAA) into JAL mainline operations.

The airline filed for bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2010, after losses of nearly ¥100 billion in a single quarter, but emerged from bankruptcy protection in March 2011.

Main route

Japan Airlines serves 33 international destinations in Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, excluding codeshares. The airline group also serves 59 domestic destinations within Japan.

Fleet

Japan Airlines operates 121 passenger planes with a mixture of narrow- and wide-body aircraft, including 14 Boeing 737-800, 17 Boeing 767-300, 32 Boeing 767-300ER, 15 Boeing 777-200, 11 Boeing 777-200ER, 7 Boeing 777-300, 13 Boeing 777-300ER and 8 MCDonnell Douglas MD-90-30.