VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -. Japan Airlines (JAL)
and oneworld(SM) have exchanged a memorandum of understanding, completing the
Asian carrier's first step toward joining the world's leading quality global
airline alliance.
The agreement was signed just three months after JAL first indicated its
intention to seek oneworld membership. It sets out a framework for the
remaining steps to be taken before the alliance can formally invite the
airline to join. All parties have committed to reach this stage in the next
few months -- and then to bring the new recruit on board oneworld on a fast-
track program.
Assuming all remaining agreements can be reached, JAL should be flying as
a full-fledged member of the alliance in about one year.
American Airlines will be supporting JAL through these tasks as its prime
oneworld sponsor, assisted by Cathay Pacific.
"Adding Japan Airlines will be one of the most significant developments in
oneworld's history," said oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch. "We are
delighted that we have been able to reach this key stage in our discussions so
soon. It signals an excellent relationship going forward. Bringing JAL on
board is a top priority for the alliance. oneworld and all its member
airlines have committed to do whatever is necessary to complete this process
as smoothly and speedily as possible. We look forward to working with the
team at JAL to complete the steps necessary before we can issue a formal
invitation to join."
Said JAL Group Chief Executive Officer Toshiyuki Shinmachi: "Discussions
between Japan Airlines and oneworld have progressed at an extremely swift
pace. The memorandum of understanding signifies Japan Airlines' first major
step toward obtaining full membership of oneworld. We hope that we can
maintain this pace and successfully complete all the stages ahead of us, so
JAL can enter oneworld as soon as possible, to the benefit of our customers."
About oneworld
oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline
business -- American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay
Pacific, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus, plus their 12 affiliates. Member-
designate airlines Royal Jordanian and Hungary's Malev will start offering the
alliance's services and benefits in early 2007.
The alliance enables its member airlines to offer their customers more
services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include
a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles
and points across the whole alliance network, and access to more airport
lounges.
Together, its members:
* Serve some 605 destinations in 135 countries. With JAL, Royal
Jordanian and Malev, the oneworld network would extend to 696
destinations in 141 countries and territories.
* Operate more than 8,000 departures a day on a fleet of some 2,000
aircraft.
* Provide top frequent flyers and premium passengers with some 400
airport lounges worldwide.
* Carried more than 240 million passengers last year.
* Earned more than $60 billion in revenues in their last full financial
years, with oneworld activities generating one in every $30 earned by
its member airlines from passenger services.
oneworld offers more alliance fare and sales products than any of its
competitors, earning almost $600 million for its member airlines last year,
with all passengers transferring between oneworld members generating revenues
totaling $1.6 billion in the year. It is the first global alliance to enable
customers to transfer between flights by all of its member airlines using
electronic tickets.
oneworld has won more top international awards for airline alliances than
its competitors combined. It was voted the World's Leading Airline Alliance
for the third year running in the 2005 World Travel Awards, which are based on
votes cast by travel professionals from more than 200 countries, and was
selected the World's Best Airline Alliance by readers of Business Traveller
magazine for the second year running in 2005.
Five of oneworld's existing partners operate to and from Japan -. American
Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and Qantas -. carrying some
four million passengers last year on a combined schedule of almost 200 round
trips a week. These link Tokyo Narita, Osaka Kansai, Nagoya Centrair, Fukuoka
and Sapporo Chitose with direct flights to 13 destinations, including oneworld
hubs Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Helsinki,
London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney.
About Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines is the largest carrier in the Asia-Pacific region. In
terms of group revenues, it would become the largest member of oneworld.
Using virtually all other measures, it would be in the alliance's biggest
three, alongside American Airlines and British Airways. Until today, it was
the only one among the 20 biggest international airlines in the world (IATA
members) not to have joined or sought membership in one of the three key
airline groupings.
From its main hubs of Tokyo (Narita and Haneda) and Osaka (Kansai and
Itami), Japan Airlines serves 206 destinations in 34 countries and territories
in Asia, Australasia, Europe and the Americas, including oneworld hubs Chicago
O'Hare, Los Angeles, New York JFK, London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Sydney and
Singapore.
It will expand oneworld's existing network by about 10 percent, adding 68
destinations -. 56 of them in Japan and five in China. It would also add one
territory -. Guam.
With nearly 24,000 staff in the air transport sector, JAL operates a fleet
of some 280 aircraft, which last year carried almost 60 million passengers.
It has some 1,140 departures a day.
JAL reported net profits of 30 billion yen (US $281 million) for 2004, on
revenues of 2,130 billion yen (US $20 billion).
Founded in 1951, it is a public company with its shares listed on the
Tokyo stock exchange.
JAL currently has extensive bilateral agreements with oneworld partners
American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN and Qantas --
and, since it indicated its plan to join oneworld, with Finnair as well.
Pictures, Logo and Video
Pictures and logos of oneworld and its member carriers can be downloaded
from http://www.oneworld.com/gallery .
Pictures and logos of JAL can be downloaded from the news section at
http://www.oneworld.com/gallery .
A video b-roll, with broadcast quality shots of oneworld and its existing
member airlines, is available from AirTime TV (contact Martin White on +44
7831 270534 or at martin@airtimetv.co.uk ).
SOURCE oneworld
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Related links:
http://www.aa.com
http://www.oneworld.com/pressroom
http://www.jal.com/en/press http://www.aerlingus.com
http://www.aa.com/pressreleases
http://www.britishairways.com/press
http://www.cathaypacific.com http://www.finnair.com
http://www.iberia.com http://www.lan.com
http://www.qantas.com.au
CONTACT:
Michael Blunt, PR of oneworld,
+44-20-8738-5173, or +44-7789-612712, or mblunt@oneworldmgmt.com
; or Stephen Pearlman of JAL, +81-3-5460-3109, or
stephen.pearlman@jal.com ; or Media Relations of Aer Lingus,
+353-1-886-2573; or Corporate Communications of American
Airlines, +1-817-967-1577, or corp.comm@aa.com ; or Kate Gay,
Corp Comms Manager of British Airways, +44-20-8738-5164; or
Corporate Communications of Cathay Pacific, +852-2747-8282; or
Corporate Communications of Finnair, +358-981-84970; or
Communications of Iberia, +34-91-587-7462, or
prensaintl@Iberia.es ; or Communications of LAN, +562-565-3975;
or Corporate Communications of Qantas, +61-2-9691-3742
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