New Side Business of Japan Airlines: Curry in Pack

A airline specialized website Flight Aware reported an interesting story about Japan Airlines (JAL) in the Japanese language as follows

JAL Lounge Beef Curry Sales Surpass One Million Servings; Campaign Includes Spoon Not for Sale

By Yusuke KOHASE

　Japan Airlines and its affiliated trading company JALUX announced on February 28 that the total sales of the popular "JAL Special Original Beef Curry" menu has surpassed 1 million servings.A campaign to commemorate the achievement will be launched in March, and a talk event with actor and musician Nao Matsushita will also be held.

JAL Special Original Beef Curry" (courtesy of JALUX), which has sold more than 1 million servings

JALUX

A not-for-sale curry spoon (provided by JALUX) will be given away to those who purchase the "JAL Special Original Beef Curry" sold by JALUX.

　Two types of campaigns are being offered: for the purchase of 10 servings or mileage award redemption, an original, not-for-sale curry spoon will be given away.Ten lucky winners will also win a lounge curry plate.Purchases and redemption between March 3 and May 6 at the "JAL Shopping JAL Mall Store" mail order site or the JAL website "JAL Totto Oki no Ippin" will be eligible.

　A campaign will also be held on X (formerly Twitter): follow JAL's official X account and post your JAL Curry photo and feedback on X with the hashtags "#JAL Curry" and "#JAL Curry 1 Million Servings Commemorative".JAL LOUNGE Curry Man, which is served at the international first class lounge, will be given away.The campaign period is from March 3 to May 6.

　A talk event will be held in Tokyo at the end of March.The details of the event will be announced on the campaign website on May 6.Matsushita often flies on JAL flights in her private life, so she will be sharing her own experiences at the event.

　In addition, JALUX's original "JAL SELECTION" brand food products, such as curry and curry buns, will be sold in stores and at Tsutaya Denki in Futakotamagawa, Tokyo, on March 27 and 28.

　JAL Special Original Beef Curry is a popular menu item offered at international JAL lounges in Haneda and Narita.Sales began in August 2020, after 90% of international flights were suspended due to the Corona disaster and the lounge curries lost their place.Initially sold in 1 kg packs, it will be sold in individual 200 gram packages from February 2023.In January of this year, it was also sold inside the ticket gates of JR Shinagawa Station (related article).

JAL Collaborates with a start-up to Commercialize Space Tours by Balloon, Leveraging its Know-how in Aviation Business

 

January 20, 2025

edited by Aviation and Space News from Japan

Travel Voice https://www.travelvoice.jp/ reports a new venture by Japan Airlines and a balloon flight startup aiming at launching commercial near space tourism.

Iwatani Giken and Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that they will collaborate to commercialize and popularize space flight experiences.JAL is participating in the "OPEN UNIVERSE PROJECT," a co-creation project sponsored by Iwatani Giken, and will collaborate to create new value by utilizing the knowledge and assets accumulated through the JAL Group's air transportation business.

 The "OPEN UNIVERSE PROJECT" is a space tourism project for the private sector, which is being co-created by companies and organizations in a variety of industries with the aim of making space travel safe, secure, and affordable for everyone.

Iwatani Giken, headquartered in Ebetsu City, Hokkaido, is a start-up company involved in the balloon-based space business.

JAL Changes Boarding Order on Domestic Flights to Smoother Method

 

JAL Changes Boarding Order on Domestic Flights to Smoother Method with Tokyo Tech Collaboration; International Flights Now Guided by LINE 

September 13, 2024 #LINE Yahoo #Japan Airlines (JAL)

Travel Voice, a Japanese travel business news site reported the following.

JAL has changed the boarding procedure on wide-body aircraft with two aisles in the cabin on domestic flights. This change is being implemented after joint research with Professor Toshiyasu Obutsu of the Tokyo Institute of Technology's School of Environmental and Social Science and Engineering revealed a boarding method that is expected to reduce in-flight congestion on wide-body aircraft more than the current method.

An image of the revised boarding process by JAL for Airbus A350-900

The organization of groups to be called in order at boarding will be changed. Group 3, which is called after pre-boarding and priority boarding (Group 1 and 2), was previously seats after 40 and emergency exit row seats, but will be changed to seats after 40, window-side A and K seats, and emergency exit row seats; Group 4 will be changed from seats after 20 to all seats; and Group 5 will be eliminated. Group 4 will be changed to all seats from number 20 onward, and Group 5 will be eliminated.

From the press release The boarding bridge aisle that passengers pass through when boarding will also be changed. For aircraft that use two boarding bridges, the boarding bridge aisle has been guided according to the class of service. From now on, the system will be changed to guide passengers by row for standard seats. This will alleviate congestion near the doors, according to the company.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology's research used a 360-degree camera installed in the cabin to measure the movements of passengers during boarding, and built a unique boarding simulation model based on the data obtained. The optimal boarding method was derived from this simulation model by conducting approximately 1,000 trials of multiple scenarios, changing the boarding order and other factors.

On September 18, 2024, JAL will begin using LINE's corporate function "LINE Notification Message" on international flights to provide boarding information and other information based on individual reservations to passengers on international flights.

Up until now, LINE has only provided a service to notify information on the status of flights scheduled for international flights, while information on reservations and boarding has been provided via e-mail and the JAL application.

After the renewal, LINE will use "LINE Notification Messages" to provide information on flight status, boarding procedures, when check-in has not been completed, information on passing through security checkpoints, flight cancellations and delays, and other flight status information.

JAL's Debt Ballons, Growing Distrust among Banks

　The amount of excessive debt of Japan Airlines, under corporate rehabilitation process, has amounted to JPY1 trillion or US$1.11 billion level. The main reason of swallowing debt is attributed to book accounting to record the cost of disposal of older aircraft and other restructuring as ‘loss’. On the other hand, the former board members,those  who were supposed to take responsibility of the collapse of the company, are found as serving as the board of JAL’s affiliated corporations; thus the distrust of bank syndicate has reached to its peak as they have been requested by JAL to abandon a part of their loans; it would be inevitable to foresee a hard time to reach their agreement  within August.

A bank executive who was briefed  by JAL on July 1 outburst-ed  his emotion by saying ‘I cannot understand how come you added more amount to abandon by us.’

JAL’s excessive liabilities amounted to  JPY 950 billion (approx USD 10.6 billion) on consolidated basis, higher than when the company filed for corporate rehabilitation process by JPY100 billion. Accordingly JAL wishes to ask the banks for debt waiver of extra 50 billion yen.

A reduction of personnel as a whole group, targeted 16,000 in total, calls for additional reserve of hundreds of billion yen for additional payment for their early retirement.

JAL is  to receive public funding of 300-350 billion yen while the banking insertions are requested to abandon their liabilities. The airliner is obliged to announce publicly of  their loss to keep transparency in return of receiving public fund, but the JAL has not disclosed the details yet.

Distrust feeling of the bank syndicate comes from not only increased amount of liabilities as requested.  The former board of directors at JAL all quited as the company filed for bankruptcy but H. Nishimatsu, then-president, got a seat of president of JAL Foundation while some others got board members at JAL affiliated companies by June. An  executive of the bank syndicate commented ‘A post of president is paid nothing but the post is honorable seat for those who completed all duties. Clearly the company lacks for sensitivity for how it would be perceived by the society.’

JAL’s liquidation process  has protected general business liabilities such as aircraft leasing and fuel cost to ensure ‘continued operations’ and, in return, the rate of liability write off was set abnormally high.

In addition, JAL is requesting the banks of refinancing for replacement of its aircraft; currently the company has submitted a JPY 360 billion plan that was reacted by the banks thinking JAL is asking too much.

JAL’s performance shows a steadfast recovery as shown in May when its international service utilization rate was 70.8%, an improvement by 14 points than the same month of the previous year.

JAL Chooses Delta

from Yomiuri Shimbun, January 16

Japan Airlines and Delta Airlines agreed to tie up  by joint operations on January 15.

JAL will sign an agreement with Delta after final authorization of its new management headed by Kazuo Inamori, new Chairman and CEO. JAL management will be reshuffled after it will file its bankruptcy for corporate rehabilitation.

Visiting Delta top management and JAL met at JAL headquarters on January 15 for final talks, reaching mutual agreement in working level.

Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation (ETIC), in charge of JAL's rehabilitation, reportedly sees a tieup with Delta would improve operational efficiency of JAL's international flights, thus leading to earlier come back of JAL.

Accordingly JAL will change its alliance membership from One World to Sky Team led by Delta, wishing to complete its transition process by April 2011.

The two air lines will apply for anti-trust immunity to U.S. Department of Transportation by middle of February. If granted the immunity, they can have multiplied effect on their transpacific routes.

ETIC with a new management of JAL will continue to assess Delta's proposal for capital participation to JAL.

JAL Prefers Delta As Partner

From Asahi Shimbun (www.asahi.com) January 3, 2010

Haruka Nishimatsu, President of Japan Airlines, expressed his view against a solution by legal liquidation as expected by Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC), an private-public fund, to which JAL has requested for support. He also told that it would be more advantageous for JAL to change its alliance membership with consideration of new marketing strategy in Asian market with potential growth; he told his preference of Delta Airlines than Aemrican Airlines as a partner while he emphasized he has no plans for JAL to withdraw from international service.

Nishimatsu told in his interview with Asahi Shimbun that legal liquidation may lead to loss of customers for JAL as it may give wrong impression as bankruptcy. Pointing out ongoing self initiative actions of JAL such as reduction of its corporate pension payment as well as other management changes, Nishimatsu stressed JAL is already implementing almost the same solutions as legal liquidation.

JAL, assumed in a state of asset deficiency, has a high chance of being forced to legal liquidation unless ETIC supports it, consequently the decision of ETIC can determine the course of JAL's salvation.

JAL's international operations, a chief factor of its deteriorated business performance, will be shrunk, according to Nishimatsu, by abolishing of air routes and downsizing of aircraft but he threw out a possibility for JAL to terminate its international service. He believed JAL should strengthen its operations in Asian market in the future to face competition with other carriers such as ANA.

Based on that, Nishimatsu showed his view that there will be more advantageous for JAL to join Sky Team alliance that major Asian airlines such as Korean Air are members already and more Asian carries would join. JAL is currently a member of One World alliance led by American Airlines. Delta Airlines has proposed JAL to change its alliance membership while Delta has a plan to
acquire capital in JAL.

Nishimatsu reiterated his intention to resign; it is expected he will express his resignation formally before or right after a decision to support JAL by ETIC in middle or end of January.

Government mulls ¥700 billion in credit guarantees for JAL

from Japan Times internet edition 6 December 2009

The Japanese government is considering extending credit guarantees worth up to ¥700 billion on loans and investments from financial institutions to struggling Japan Airlines Corp. to shield the carrier from a possible cash shortage.

Standard & Poors Rates JAL as Lowest

From Mainichi Shimbun, 2 December

Standard & Poors lowered the rating of Japan Airlines from CC to SD, the lowest classification and meaning selective default on December 2.

The credit- rating company has explained that JAL had a case for default by the definition of the company on November 30.

JAL applied for corporate rehabilitation ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) to suspend its debt payment temporarily on November 13 until it gets a full support from Enerprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan. S&P will give a new rating to JAL upon analyzing the company's debt-paying ability.

Editor's note: JAL stock price was closed as 92 yen per share, no change from the previous day at Tokyo Stock Exchange on 3 December (Japan time).