Who is Best Punctual Airliner in Domestic Network in Japan?

定時運航率で見る日本のエアラインのパフォーマンス

The Editor

October 14, 2019

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has released FY2018 data on punctual departure performance records.

Japanese fiscal year covers April to March.

Accordingly, the list below shows the performance rate compiled from April 2018 to March 2019 by respective carriers. For your information, Japan Airlines in the following data includes JAL’s affiliates of J Air and Hokkaido Air Systems while ANA data also includes ANA Wings. 

Punctuality departure performance by definition means all schedule flights that could depart within 15 minutes of the schedules. However, MLIT data only covers those aircraft with 100 or more seats.

Punctual performance of carries by rank

(Unit: %, parenthesis means FY2017 data)

1st SKYMARK　 93.91 (93.06)

2nd STARFLIER 93.88 （89.86）

3rd Air Do 90.76   (90.06)

4th ANA 90.51 (88.52)

5th JAL 89.91 (90.01)

6 AirAsia Japan 88.63 (90.42)

7 Solaseed Air 87.16 (87.75)

8 Spring Japan 85.08 (83.32)

9 Peach 82.61 (79.17)

10 Jet Star Japan 81.58 (85.17)

11 Japan Trans Ocean 80.39 (83.90)

12 Vanila Air 79.33 (80.94)

I will be pleased if you could refer to the above data when you plan domestic flight in Japan next time.

JAL's New Long-haul LCC is named ZIPAIR Tokyo

March 8) Japan Airlines’s newly launched low-cost carrier (LCC) subsidiary announced its corporate name and business plans on Friday.

According to TBL, a preparatory corporation before launching carrier service, it is called ZIPAIR Tokyo and hoping to start regular flight services from Tokyo Narita to Bangkok and Seoul as early as mid-2020, just before Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games.

The new airliner will start flight services with two Boeing 787-8s leased from Japan Airlines.

ZIPAIR wishes to enter Narita to US west coast destinations as early as 2021.

Destinations of Bangkok and Seoul were selected as high traffic routes connecting with Japan.

However, as more LCCs and legacy airlines are operating on the same routes, ZIPAIR will appeal with half the price of legacy airlines and more spacious cabin for passengers to differentiate with them.

ANA Gets More New Slots at Haneda Next Year

   

Dispute over Who Gets More International Flight Slots at Expanded Haneda:

Gov’t Decision in Favor of ANA

All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Tokyo Haneda Int’l Airport   

October 2, 2013, various sources

Sankei Shimbun reported today as follows: For allocation of newly available slots for international flights at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, which is due to complete a new expansion project by the end of March, 2014, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is allegedly giving more slots to ANA than JAL.

Newly available are designated for international arrival/departure slots during ‘daytime’ i.e. 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the gateway to Tokyo city center and MILT is going to allocate a total of 16 slots to Japanese carriers. These slots are supposed to be used for European trunk lines as well as shorter routes for Asian destinations including China and Indonesia. Allegedly ANA will be given around 10 slots at the final stage of coordination by MILT.

International slots are known for high profitability and it is said a daytime slot can generate annual revenues of about 10 billion yen (100 million U.S. dollars).  ANA has been claiming that the airliner deserves to receive more slots than Japan Airlines that was rescued by public funding from its bankruptcy. and the gap of corporate performance was artificially widened between the two carriers  JAL reacted to this ANA’s request by saying ‘a fair competition calls for an equal distribution of the slots.’

MLIT, on the other hand, has judged that ‘awarding of an official support should not distort a competitive environment into an inappropriate manner’ and will permit ANA to get two slots for German destinations and one slot for Canadian destination to ANA.. Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported ANA will receive 11 slots and JAL will get 5 slots

JAL Goes Back to AMR, Rejecting Delta

New leadership of JAL, Kazuo Inamori, Chairman of the Board revealed his opposition for JAL to change its alliance membership from One World to Sky Team.

JAL management is tilting to reflect Inamori's opinion and will announce Delta Airlines to discontinue their talks on joint venture within this week.

Inamori and new president K. Onishi had expressed their statement to review the selection of joint venture partners from 'blank sheet' again as they assumed their positions in early this month.

Grounds of Inamori's opposition to change alliance membership are seemingly financial and business reason, and he fears to see extra costs of changeover as well as decrease in sales if JAL joins Sky Team. He rather prefers to see recovery of JAL operations by keep staying at One World alliance.

JAL-DELTA JOINT VENTURE TALKS STARTS OVER AGAIN

FROM Yomiuri Shimbun, FEBRUARY 7

Japan Airlines, once made a basic agreement with Delta for strategic alliance, has decided to start the talk afresh.

This decision reflects the opinions of Kazuo Inamori, a new chairman of the board. JAL will compare the two possible partners, Delta and American Airlines and will make a final decision after February 8 when its board will be filled by new members.

Originally JAL planned to announce details of a new joint venture plans with Delta in early February since they had reached an agreement with Delta on working level.

Joint venture with Delta is being endorsed by more from Enterprise Turnover Initiative Corporation who acts as receiver of JAL's rehabilitation as well as the Ministry of Land and Transportation as Delta has more density of air routes.

On the other hand, JAL is now a member of One World alliance member and it will change its membership to Sky Team if JAL-Delta joint venture comes true.Inamori as well as some members of JAL board are reportedly insisting a further study a possible confusion and effect to corporate profit by alliance membership changeover.

JAL's Former Presidents Are Requested to Pay Back Their Retirement Pays

from Yomiuri Online
19 December 2009

Japan Airlines, in the process of business rehabilitation under public control, are requesting a total of six former presidents to return a part of their rewards as they had received at their retirement.

The current management of the company, before starting formal process to slash corporate pension for retired employees, seemingly reached to a decision to clarify responsibility of past management decisions that consequently led to today's crisis. The company official acknowledged all of them agreed to return their rewards.

The six persons served as presidents of JAL as well as JAL International or JAL Japan, major subsidiary companies, and total amount of repayment may reach to millions of yen.

In the meantime, JAL decided to announce its revision plans of corporate pension scheme where retirees would receive average 30% less while current employees would receive 50% less than present level as they retire on December 18. The company will send letters to all of applicable retirees and employees at early next week to explain how much cut they will see in new plans and asking them to reply if they accept the plans by January 12.

JAL's preliminary survey showed 65% of retirees replied that they would accept the plans but the revision of corporate pension scheme calls for more than two thirds of all of relevant retirees and employees and the chance to adopt the new plans is not certain.

At briefing sessions held by JAL at various cities, there were many opinions from JAL retirees asking current president as well as its former management officers to take responsibility for past mismanagement of the company.

JAL's Debts Exceed Assets; Transport Minister Acknowledges

From Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun, 24 November

Minister of Transport, Seiji Maehara said he had been briefed on financial health of excessive debt Japan Airlines, in the process of corporate rehabilitation under public control, on both cases of the corporate liquidation and restructuring cases.

Maehara officially admitted a final report submitted on 29 Oct by JAL Rehabilitation Task Force that described JAL as the company is in excessive debt.

At Tokyo Stock Exchange, JAL stocks (code 9205) were traded with the lowest price of 86 yen per share in the morning of November 24. At the day's closing, the price was 87 yen down 8 yen or 8.42% from the last week.

One of decisive factors to ensure the company's comeback is to reduce its corporate pension scheme expenditure; JAL management proposed on November 23 to its pension recipients to reduce the amount by 30% for retirees and by 50% for would-be-retirees. However, the change should be endorsed by two thirds of all retirees of JAL and the market wonders if this is possible.