JAL considering firming up A350 options for int'l growth

JAL - Japan Airlines (JL, Tokyo Haneda) is considering firming up some of the twenty-five A350 options it has with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) as part of a firm order for eighteen A350-900s and thirteen A350-1000s placed in 2013.

Airline president Yoshiharu Ueki told Bloomberg that the additional airframes could be used to bolster JAL's international network - to India and the United States in particular.

“India is becoming very important within Asia,” he said. “Demand is increasing without a doubt. We want to deepen our tie-ups and increase our own flights.”

JAL's first A350s are due to deliver during JAL's 2019 Financial Year (April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020) at about which time they will begin replacing the carrier's ageing B777 fleet which includes twelve B777-200s, eleven B777-200(ER)s, four B777-300s, and thirteen B777-300(ER)s.

Last month, JAL announced it had firmed up four B787-8 options with Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare). The aircraft will arrive in 2019 and will be deployed on domestic Japanese routes out of Osaka Itami.

The growth spurt comes after curbs on JAL's expansion, imposed following a JPY350 billion yen (USD3.1 billion) government bailout in 2010, were lifted in April this year allowing the airline to once more seek out fresh investment and growth opportunities and apply for new route authorities.

Aside from capacity expansion, JAL is also hoping to secure a significant number of slots at the coveted Tokyo Haneda Airport. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, government is looking at expanding daily return flights to/from Haneda by around fifty-three. The extra slots will all likely be for daytime international flights, with half, or twenty-six, expected to be allocated to Japanese carriers.

In terms of new growth opportunities, JAL has inked partnership agreements with VietJetAir (VJ, Hanoi) and Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) gaining access to the lucrative Vietnamese and Hawaiian markets. Another initiative the carrier has formed is JAL SBI FinTech, a 51/49 joint venture with Japanese financial services specialist, SBI Holdings, the first such venture JAL has established in nine years.
Under the terms of the deal announced this week, JAL SBI FinTech will partner JAL and Sumishin SBI Net Bank in the establishment of JAL Payment Port which will operate in the international prepaid credit card niche initially.

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