Japan Airlines
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| Founded | 1951 (as Japan Air Lines) | ||||||
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| Hubs | Narita International Airport Tokyo International Airport Kansai International Airport Osaka International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Chubu Centrair International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | JAL Mileage Bank | ||||||
| Alliance | oneworld (as of April 1, 2007) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 232 (75 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 125 | ||||||
| Parent company | Japan Airlines Corp. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan | ||||||
| Key people | Haruka Nishimatsu(President and CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.jal.com/ | ||||||
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Japan Airlines Corporation (株式会社日本航空, Kabushiki-gaisha Nihon Kōkū) (TYO: 9205), or JAL, is the largest airline operator in Asia.
Two companies operate under the JAL brand: Japan Airlines International (日本航空インターナショナル, Nihon Kōkū Intānashonaru) and Japan Airlines Domestic (日本航空ジャパン, Nihon Kōkū Japan). Japan Airlines Domestic has primary responsibility for JAL's large network of intra-Japan flights, while JAL International operates both international and trunk domestic flights. On October 1, 2006, Japan Airlines International and Japan Airlines Domestic merged into a single brand, Japan Airlines International. JAL Corporation also owns seven smaller airlines which feed or supplement mainline JAL flights:
- Hokkaido Air System
- JAL Express
- JALways
- J-Air
- Japan Air Commuter
- Japan Asia Airways
- Japan Transocean Air
JAL has the largest fleet of Boeing 747s in the world (approximately 76, at March 2005). It is one of only two Asian airlines to fly to Latin America (Malaysia Airlines route to Buenos Aires, JAL routes to Mexico City and São Paulo).
Japan Airlines will join the oneworld alliance on April 1, 2007.
History
Regulated era
Japan Air Lines Co., Ltd. was established in August 1951, with the government of Japan recognizing the need for a reliable air transportation system to help Japan grow in the aftermath of World War II. On October 25, using three Northwest Airlines Martin 2-0-2 aircraft, and Northwest crews, Japan Air Lines began serving several domestic cities from Tokyo. [1]
On August 1, 1953, the Diet of Japan passed the Japan Air Lines Company Act (日本航空株式会社法, Nihon Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha Hō), forming a new state-owned Japan Air Lines, which assumed all assets and liabilities of its private predecessor on October 1. Its first aircraft, a DC-3 named "Kinsei", was leased from Philippine Airlines. Japan Airlines, in addition to the 2-0-2's, used DC-3, DC-4, DC-6 and DC-7 during the 1950s.
On February 2, 1954, Japan Airlines began its first international service, flying from Tokyo to San Francisco. This flight, operating on a DC-6B, made stops at Wake Island and Honolulu before arriving in San Francisco, A one-way ticket for the twice-weekly flight cost $650. To this day, San Francisco to Tokyo is Japan Airlines flight number 001.
In 1960, Japan Airlines bought their first jet, a DC-8. Soon after, they decided to re-equip their airline, using jet aircraft only. That decade, many new international destinations were established.
Under the 45/47 system (45/47体制, yon'go-yon'nana taisei), the so-called "aviation constitution" enacted by the Japanese government in 1972, JAL was granted flag carrier status to operate international routes, and was also designated to operate domestic trunk routes in competition with All Nippon Airways. During this era, JAL bought the Boeing 747, the Boeing 727 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to accommodate their growing list of routes within Japan and to other countries. In the 1980s Japan Airlines performed special flights for the Crown Prince of Japan and the Princess, Pope John Paul II, and for Japanese prime ministers. During that decade they also began to be more promotionally aware, with plane models and other promotional items being produced in quantity. It also bought new Boeing 767 jets and retired the DC-8s and 727s.
Deregulated era
Japan began considering airline deregulation in the late 1970s, with the government announced the abandoning of the 45/47 system in 1985. In 1987, Japan Airlines was completely privatised, and the other two airlines in Japan, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air System, were permitted to freely compete with JAL on domestic and international routes.
Japan Airlines began the 1990s with flights to help evacuate Japanese citizens from Iraq before the start of the Gulf War. In 1992, Japan Air Charter was established, and in 1997 an agreement with The Walt Disney Company was announced, making Japan Airlines the official airline of Tokyo Disneyland. That year also JAL Express had been established, with Boeing 737 aircraft. Also in 1997 the airline flew the Japanese prime minister to Peru to help negotiate in the Tupac Amaru kidnapping case. Japan Airlines acquired Boeing 777s during that decade.
In 2001 Japan Air System and Japan Airlines agreed to merge. On October 2, 2002 they established a new holding company called Japan Airlines System (日本航空システム, Nihon Kōkū Shisutemu), forming a new core of the JAL Group. Aircraft liveries were changed to match the design of the new JAL Group. At that time the merged group of airlines was the sixth largest in the world by passengers carried, and the third largest measured by revenue.
On April 1, 2004, JAL changed its name to Japan Airlines International and JAS changed its name to Japan Airlines Domestic. JAS flight codes were changed to JAL flight codes, JAS check-in desks were refitted in JAL livery and JAS aircraft were gradually repainted. On June 26, 2004, the parent company Japan Airlines System was renamed to Japan Airlines Corporation.
JAL applied to join the airline alliance Oneworld on October 25, 2005. JAL is currently codesharing with several members of Oneworld, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, and Qantas. Also, Oneworld's LAN is one of the partners of JAL's frequent flyer programme, JAL Mileage Bank.
JALUX Inc., established 1962, is JAL's catering company which does a variety of work for the company including the "De sky" line of snack foods, supplying JAL's 'Blue Sky' restaurants and 'JAL-DFS' shops, Aircraft fuel components, cabin services and In-flight duty-free. JALUX merged with JAS Trading on January 2004 to unify support operations for the JAL group.
Japan Airlines is one of the most widely known companies by model aeroplane collectors, their planes being produced in mass quantities by Schabak, Wooster, Herpa, Flight Miniatures, Long Prosper and Dragon Wings.
Destinations
Fleet
The Japan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as August 2006:[1]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300-600R | 22 | 292 | Domestic routes Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787 |
| Boeing 737-400 | 23 | 150 | JAL Express/JTA domestic routes |
| Boeing 737-800 | (30 orders) | ||
| Boeing 747-100SR SUD | 1 | 533 | Domestic routes |
| Boeing 747-200 | 5 | Domestic routes | |
| Boeing 747-200F | 8 | Cargo routes | |
| Boeing 747-300 | 10 | 350 483 |
Domestic routes |
| Boeing 747-300SR | 2 | Domestic routes | |
| Boeing 747-400 | 33 | 299 (11/87/201) 346 (12/97/237) 446 (52/394) |
Domestic and international routes |
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 1 | Cargo routes | |
| Boeing 747-400D | 8 | 568 | Domestic routes |
| Boeing 747-400F | 2 | Cargo routes | |
| Boeing 767-200 | 3 | 230 | Domestic routes |
| Boeing 767-300 | 19 | 213 239 |
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| Boeing 767-300ER | 15 (3 orders) |
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| Boeing 767-300ERF | (4 orders) | Cargo and international routes | |
| Boeing 777-200 | 14 (1 order) |
389 | Domestic routes |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 11 | International routes | |
| Boeing 777-300 | 7 | 470 | Domestic routes |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 6 (7 orders) |
292 | International routes Launch customer |
| Boeing 787-3 | (13 orders) | ||
| Boeing 787-8 | (17 orders) | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 18 | 163 | Domestic routes |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 8 | 134 | Domestic routes |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 | 16 | 166 | Domestic routes |
The Boeing customer codes for Japan Airlines are x46 for JAL International (pre-merger JAL aircraft) and x89 for JAL Domestic (former JAS aircraft);
Aircraft disposed of include 8 Boeing 737-400, 8 Boeing 747-100, 6 Boeing 747SR (one now being used as a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft), 19 Boeing 747-200, 5 Boeing 747-300 and 10 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft.
In December 2004, Japan Airlines announced the selection of the Boeing 787 for its medium-size aircraft fleet. It is seeking 30 aircraft, with options on 20 more. Delivery is expected to start in 2008 and the aircraft will be used on domestic and international routes (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).
Japan Airlines confirmed an order for six new Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, three freighter and three passenger models, valued at approximately $800 million at list prices (ref:Airliner World, September 2005).
On October 31, 2005 Japan Airlines operated its last two DC-10 flights. One aircraft, JA8543, operating flight JL736 from Hong Kong International Airport to Narita International Airport, touched down at 16:05. Another aircraft, JA8541, operating flight JL952 from Incheon International Airport to Narita International Airport touched down at 16:37, marking the DC-10's last flight with the airline, after over 30 years of operations with the airline.
In the future, Japan Airline is looking forward to see the possibility to order the 747-8 aircraft.
Since 1981, Japan Airlines has been the largest Boeing 747 operator in the world.
The average age of Japan Airlines fleet is 12.1 years, at April 2006.
In-flight entertainment
The JAL and JAA onboard entertainment system is called MAGIC. The system is updated by JAL Entertainment Network (JEN) and features credit card phone, movies, destination guides with instructions on how to fill out immigration cards, active aircraft stats, games, and more. There are three generations of the MAGIC system: MAGIC-I, MAGIC-II, and MAGIC-III. The latest MAGIC-III system which is installed in Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft (also available on select Boeing 747-400 aircraft), provides Audio/Video On Demand (AVOD) entertainment to all passengers. Aircraft with MAGIC-I and MAGIC-II have movies that automatically start when the AVOD system is turned on -- once the aircraft reaches cruise level -- and economy class passengers can tune in to watch the movie in progress. All movies restart upon completion. Executive (Business) and First class passengers have full AVOD control.
MAGIC systems have JAL's duty-free shopping catalogue, including flight crew recommendations and a video of specials available on the flight. When the aircraft is in the pushback, taxi, takeoff, ascent, descent, stacking, landing, taxi, and docking phases of flight, all TV's in the cabin automatically tune into the video camera outside the aircraft to provide "Pilot Vision" to the passengers. This feature is common on many Japanese airlines.
In June 2006, JAL announced a promotion featuring the Nintendo DS Lite. Between June 1 and August 31, all Executive and First Class passengers would be offered use of Nintendo DS Lites specially manufactured for air travel (the wireless capabilities of these units were removed in order to conform with airline safety standards).[2]
The JAL Group has its own inflight magazine called Skyward, reflecting the company motto of "Dream Skyward." Before merger with JAS (the current JAL Domestic), JAL's inflight magazine was called Winds. All of the JAL Group magazines are provided by JALUX.
Incidents and accidents
- In 1952, a Martin 2-0-2 of Japan Air Lines crashed, killing all 37 on board.
- Japan Airlines Flight 472 was hijacked by the Japanese Red Army on September 28, 1977. The Douglas DC-8, en route from Paris to Haneda Airport in Tokyo with 156 people on board, stopped in Mumbai, India. Shortly after taking off from Mumbai, five armed JRA members hijacked the aircraft and ordered it flown to Dhaka, Bangladesh. At Dhaka, the hijackers took the passengers and crew hostage, demanding $6 million and the release of 9 imprisoned JRA members. A chartered JAL flight carried the money and 6 of the 9 imprisoned JRA members to Dhaka, where the exchange took place on October 2. The hijackers released 118 passengers and crewmembers, and all remaining hostages were freed later.
- Japan Airlines Flight 350 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61, aircraft registration JA8061, on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Fukuoka, Japan, to Tokyo. The airplane crashed 9 February 1982 on approach to Tokyo Haneda Airport. Among the 166 passengers and 8 crew, 24 passengers were killed, with no losses among the crew.
- On August 12, 1985, Flight 123, a Boeing 747 bound for Osaka International Airport, Itami/Toyonaka, suffered a crippling decompression shortly after takeoff from Tokyo International Airport, Ota, Tokyo, lost all its hydraulic systems and, after attempting to limp back to Tokyo, crashed into Mount Takamagahara near Gunma Prefecture; it was the worst single-aircraft disaster in history (and it's as of 2007, the third deadliest air disaster in history, after the 9/11 hijackings and the KLM-Pan Am Tenerife collision); 520 out of 524 people on board died, one of them pregnant.Rescuers indicated that fewer people would have died had rescuers gone straight to the crash site instead of waiting until the following morning.
- On August 12, 2005 metal fragments fell in a Fukuoka residential area from a JALways' DC-10 bound for Honolulu after an engine briefly caught fire. A boy and a man were injured by fragments. The incident also happened exactly 20 years after Japan Airlines Flight 123. The plane was forced to return to Fukuoka Airport. The sight of flames coming from the engine was captured by a NHK TV news crew which happened to be recording because the service to Hawaii is soon to be withdrawn as it is unprofitable. [3]
Livery
The JAL livery is called the "Arc of the Sun." The livery features the motif of a rising sun on a creamy parchment colored background. JAL is a strong supporter of UNICEF and expresses its support by having a "We Support UNICEF" logo on each of the airline's aircraft.
JAL is known for adopting special liveries. 747 registration JA8908 carries an Adidas soccer livery. 747 registration JA8907 is the Matsui Jet, featuring the famous Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui. The airline's Boeing 767-300, registration JA8253, is the Expo 2005 aircraft. Various aircraft in the JAL fleet carry a Yokoso Japan logo supporting the Visit Japan campaign. During late 2005, Japan Airlines began using a Boeing 777 (registration JA8941), featuring Japanese actor Shingo Katori on one side, and television series Saiyuki, along with its main character "Goku" on the other side [4]
JALways' fleet includes some colourful Boeing 747 and DC-10 aircraft with "Reso'cha" titles. These aircraft are used on charter flights to holiday destinations in the Pacific, such as Hawaii. Reso'cha is a marketing abbreviation for Resort Charter. Reso'cha planes were formerly known as JAL Super Resort Express.
JAL is repainting all its aircraft with the new livery but JAL, JAA and JALways aircraft can still be seen in their old liveries.
JAL is also known for its liveries featuring Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, as it is the official airline of the Tokyo Disney Resort. They sponsor the attraction Star Jets (not related to past Star Jets fleet with the old Red Crane livery), which feature a variation of the current livery on the ride vehicles. At one time there was more than 6 widebody aircraft painted with the special liveries.
References
External links
- Airline website for Japan (Japanese)
- Airline Website for the Americas ([http://www.japanair.com/ English)
- Corporate website (Japanese)
- Japan Airlines Fleet Age
- Japan Airlines Seating Guide
- Japan Airlines Fleet Detail
- Japan Airlines Passenger Opinions
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