Japan Airlines Corporation (株式会社日本航空, Kabushiki-gaisha Nippon Kōkū?) (TYO: 9205), or JAL, is an airline of Japan. It is the largest airline operator in
Asia.[1] It is based in
Tokyo, Japan, operating scheduled and non-scheduled international
and domestic services. Its main bases are Tokyo International Airport and
Narita International Airport, Tokyo. It has 17,925 employees (as of March
2007).[2]
Two companies operated under the JAL brand: Japan Airlines International (日本航空インターナショナル, Nippon Kōkū Intānashonaru?) and Japan
Airlines Domestic (日本航空ジャパン, Nippon Kōkū Japan?). Japan Airlines Domestic had primary responsibility for JAL's large network of intra-Japan
flights, while JAL International operated 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:
JAL has the largest fleet of Boeing 747s in the world (approximately 76, as of March
2005). JAL flying to Mexico City and São Paulo is one of only three Asian airlines to fly to Latin America: the others are Malaysia Airlines and
Air China. IATA's Operational
Safety Audit for its safety practices.[3]
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.[4]
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 Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4, Douglas
DC-6 and Douglas 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 Douglas
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 announcing 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
codeshares with other Oneworld airlines, 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. The airline joined Oneworld
on April 1 2007.
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.
Destinations
- Further information: Japan Airlines destinations
Charters for 2007
This year JAL will be operating charter flights to:
JAL will also operate extra flights to Brisbane, Honolulu, Kailua-Kona, Milan, Rome and Sydney for charter traffic.
Charters for 2008
Fleet
The Japan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as August 2007:[5]
The Boeing customer code for Japan Airlines is x46 for JAL
International (pre-merger JAL aircraft) and x89 for JAL Domestic (former JAS
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
For Boeing 787 is expected to start in 2008 and the aircraft
will be used on domestic and international routes.[6]
- 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.[7]
- 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 Airlines is looking forward to the possibility of ordering 747-8 aircraft.[citation needed]
The average age of Japan Airlines fleet is 12.1 years, as of April 2006.[8]
Previously operated
Services
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).[3]
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.
Japan Airlines continues to find ways to improve their In-Flight Entertainment systems, including on-plane cameras on the
wings, the belly, on the tail, etcetera, and also home-theater capability on overseas flights. They are also working on adding
more benefits such as Satellite Radio capabilities, etcetera.
Affinity program
JAL Mileage Bank is the frequent flyer programme of Japan Airlines and its
subsidiaries. The programme is the largest in Japan. Aside from JAL's Oneworld partners,
members can earn miles on the following carriers:
The FLY ON Programme is the programme's elite system. JMB members can earn "FLY ON Points(FOP)" (elite qualifying miles, EQM)
and elite qualifying segments (EQS) on JAL Group and other Oneworld flights. However, a minimum of 4 flights per year must be on
JAL Group carriers.
Status levels are as follows:
- JMB Crystal (Oneworld Ruby)
- 30,000 or more FOP, or 10,000 or more FOP and 30 or more EQS
- JMB Sapphire (Oneworld Sapphire*)
- 50,000 or more FOP, or 15,000 or more FOP and 50 or more EQS
- JGC Premier (Oneworld Emerald)
- 70,000 or more FOP, or 80 or more EQS (only qualified to JAL Global Club(JGC)
members)
- JMB Diamond (Oneworld Emerald)
- 100,000 or more FOP, or 120 or more EQS
*Oneworld Sapphire status can also be earned by reaching Crystal status as a JAL Global
Club member.
Freight and Airmail
JALCARGO is the brand of Japan Airline group's freight service. JAL is a member of the WOW Alliance on cargo. In the fiscal year ended on 31 March 2006 [9], domestically it carried 338,443 paid tonne-kilometres (tkm) of freight and 85,519 tkm of airmail. Internationally it
carried 4,541,293 paid tkm of freight and 161,690 tkm of airmail.
Incidents and accidents
- Japan Airlines Flight JA8032 accidentally landed in San Francisco Bay approx. 2
1/2 miles short of San Francisco International Airport on November 22, 1968. The McDonnell Douglas
DC-8-62 aircraft was recovered after being in the water for 55 hours. There were no injuries to the crew nor to any
passengers. [5]
- Japan Airlines Flight 471, on June 14, 1972, crashed outside of New Delhi's Param
International Airport, killing 82 of 87 occupants (all 11 crew members and 75 of 78 passengers died [6]) and four people on the
ground [7] [8].
- 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 715, a DC-8, crashed into a hill in bad weather while attempting to
land at the Kuala Lumpur Subang Airport, on 27 September 1977. 34 people, including 8 of the 10 crew members and 26 of the 69 passengers [9], were killed when the
aircraft broke on impact. [10]
- On August 12, 1985, Flight 123, a Boeing 747 bound for Osaka
International Airport, Itami/Toyonaka, lost
all its hydraulic systems shortly after takeoff from Tokyo International
Airport 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 if the 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' flight 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. [12]
- On April 2, 2007, Flight 329,
a Boeing 777, carrying 259 people on board including Finance Minister Koji Omi made a safe emergency landing in Fukuoka, in south Japan after the plane's right engine had to be shut down due to overheating. There were no injuries.
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 [13]
JALways, whose fleet is entirely made of Boeing 747 aircraft, has painted all of its aircraft with tropical-influenced
liveries along 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 their aircraft can still be seen in their old liveries (known as
the tsuru livery).
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
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