KFC Menu Added to JAL Flights

Kentucky Fried Chicken to be Served in JAL Long Haul Flights

From Jiji Press, 2012/11/28

Japan Airlines announced today the new in-flight menu called Air Kentucky Fried Chicken, specially developed for air travelers jointly with Kentucky Fired Chicken, Japan Ltd. This new menu will be available on JAL flights departing Narita to 8 destinations of USA and Europe from December 1 to the end of February 2013. Passengers of premium economy and economy classes will enjoy this as snack just before arrival to the destinations.

　

JAL said this is the first time in the world for Kentucky Fried Chicken to be served in flight. Chicken wing and chicken breast meat, both smaller than KFC menu in town, will be served with bread in JAL cabin.

Air Defense Around Japan Getting Hot

Japan’s Forces Must Watch North and South : AWACS for Chinese Navy, Alert for Russian Recon Planes

from MSN SANKEI webnews 2012.9.21 01:37

                    Japan Air Self Defense Force E-767 AWACS

Operations of two frigates of Chinese Navy was found in northern sea of Senkaku Islands, Okinawa Prefecture on September 20; it was the first sight of Chinese warships at the subject sea area after the Government of Japan purchased the islands from a Japanese national.

Japan Air Self Defense Force flew AWACS E-767s to watch around the islands as a countermeasure of higher alert. On the same day, it was detected in the Sea of Japan of two aircraft including reconnaissance plane of Russia that approached to Japan’s airspace. Japan’s self-defense forces are forced to operate in two fronts.

Government officials in Tokyo confirmed detection of the two frigates at the northern sea of Senkaku Islands from 19th to 20th September and the two ships have not entered neither contiguous zone nor territorial water.

Maritime Self Defense Force has been patrolling by P-3C flight once a day around the Senkakus. This time, the government has increased its presence by mobilizing AWACS E-767s and E-2Cs as well as OP-3,converted P-3C for graphic intelligence gathering around the Senkakus for watching Chinese maritime patrol vessels and aircraft at the area.

OP-3 is capable to watch the sea area from higher altitude than P-3Cs. Although designed to detect aircraft, E-2C can find approaching large-type vessels. AWACS E-767 is more versatile by gathering and organizing data from OP-3 and E-2C for sharing information serving as a relay station.

              OP-3C of Maritime Self Defense Force

Two Russian aircraft that approached to Japan’s airspace were identified as an Il-20 electronic reconnaissance and a Su-24 tactical reconnaissance aircraft. They repeated come and go to approach to Japan’s airspace while circling on the Sea of Japan.
　
This simultaneous provocative presence around Japan by China and Russia did take place immediately after the 3/11 earthquake-tsunami of 2011 that jolted eastern part of Japan. While Japan-US forces were tied up with relief operations at that time, China intentionally neared its aircraft belonging to national maritime bureau to a destroyer of Japan; Russia flew its Il-20 so close to Japanese territory.

ANA Calls for ‘Fair and Level Market’ as Concerned over JAL’s Rapid Business Recovery

      Sankei Shimbun, May 17, 2012
   
Shin-ichiro Ito, President of All Nippon Airways (ANA) told at a press conference on May 17  that he paid respect to JAL’s efforts to their corporate rehabilitation while raising a concern that ‘if there is a fair and level market for us.’ Japan Airlienes had announced a robust and higher than expected corporate performance for previous year prior to this press conference.

What Ito referred was that ANA sees JAL’s strengthening was possible as it receives a tail-wind legal supports following JAL's filing of bankruptcy, thus distorting ‘competitive market environment.’
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JAL’s net profit for a year ending March 2012 was JPY186.6 billion (ca US$23 billion), a record high iin its history while ANA could record JPY28 billion only.

JAL’s better performance can be attributed to special financial benefits as the company could carry over huge amount of deficit to following years thus lowering the payment of corporate tax by balancing out  as well as lowered amount of depreciation costs as the company is under application of corporate bankruptcy law.

Ito stated in the press conference that ANA recognizes JAL’s rehabilitation processes are legitimate but ANA cannot achieve a comparable level of net profit. However he bitterly commented that fair competition could benefit consumers after all.

Japan’s State Official 747s to Retire, Plan to Replace by 787

From Yomiuri Shimbun, March 16, 2012

Government of Japan has started a study to retire a couple of Boeing 747-400s by fiscal 2018 (ending March 31, 2019). These jumbo jets were procured in 1991 as government official aircraft of Japan.

Major airlines in Japan already retired a big fleet of 747s and maintenance of the government aircraft is getting difficult these days. A plan to introduce the latest medium-size jetliner Boeing 787 is seemingly most probable.

787 is being supported as it can get sustainable maintenance in Japan while the aircraft can fly as long as 15,000Km range. Another charming point of 787 is that about 35% of its parts and components are made in Japan as considered as semi-domestic product. Expected price of official 787 would be JPY20 billion and two aircraft would be procured.

Current fleet of official 747s are stationed in Chitose Air Base and operated by special squadron of Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.　Crew and maintenance personnel were trained by Japan Airlines. However, JAL as well as ANA, once big operators of 747s, have already retired the fleet. Now only NCA, a freight operator, flies 747 and the company is also a launch customer of 747-8F.

In parallel to long-haul government aircraft, there is a call for introducing smaller aircraft for easy access and handling especially to purchase MRJ by Mitsubishi Aircraft to boost the sales of the Japan-made passenger aircraft.

Vietnam Looks Forward to Purchase Mitsubishi MRJ: Keidanren Chairman meets Vietnamese President

From Fuji Sankei Business Eye, March 7 2012

A mission from Keidanren, Japan’s to top business association, met with president of Vietnam, Mr. Truong Tan San, in Hanoi on March 6. Hiromosa Yonekura, chairman of Keidanren  and chairman of Sumitomo Chemicals, requested  the president to adopt Japanese technologies to build domestic infrastructures in Vietnam.

President San remarked on Japan’s first regional jet passenger aircraft, MRJ, under development by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Aircraft that he would ‘let Vietnam Airlines to reply to your request,’  that was quite unusual statement from a head of a state.

At the meeting, Hideaki Oomiya, vice chairman of Keidanren and president of Mitsubishi Heavy industries  told the Vietnamese president that his company was constructing a parts factory for aircraft in Vietnam in order to develop human resources to under take aircraft maintenance.

On previous day,  the mission got a commitment  from Vu Huy Hoang, the Vietnamese minister of industry and commerce that the minister had already instructed to relevant organizations to step forward to consider intoduction of MRJ. The regional jet, with collaborated sales pitch of public-private sectors, is now likely to be purchased by Vietnam.

JAL’s Performance shows Better-than-Expected Operating Profit of $1.8 Billion

from Mainichi Shimbun, 8 November 2011

Japan Airlines publicly announced its expected result of consolidated performance of a year ending in March. The sales amount showed a sluggish growth due to the effect of the East Japan Earthquakes in last March.  However, following a drastic business restructuring since January 2010 when the airline went bankruptcy, its operating income is expected to reach JPY140 billion which is twice the size of the target of its rehabilitation plans. This better performance is to pave way to re-listing of the stocks of the company expected sometime around September 2012.

The 3-11 disasters brought with a large drop of passengers in April-May period, resulting as its sales amount of JPY1.15 trillion, smaller than the target by the rehabilitation plans.

In terms of business size, ANA still outnumbers JAL by annual sales. However, JAL will earn more than two times of ANA in operating profit.

On the same day, JAL announced its mid-term performance ending September 2011 as JPY599.8 billion of sales and JPY106 billion of operating profit.

Sales Pitch Getting Hotter in Tokyo for Next Fighter of JASDF

from various reports,

October 9, 2012

Three makers are intensifying to appeal their respective products for sale to Japan as it is closing its selection of next fighter for Air Self-Defense Force.

New type will replace F-4E Phantom II fleet (103 including modified F-4EJ Kai) and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35A and Eurofighter Typhoon are vying for the selection in coming weeks.

Lockheed Martin has brought in and demonstrated a F-35 cockpit simulator to Tokyo, appealing its high end performance. The company revealed its proposal could satisfy all conditions including delivery time imposed by Japan. Particularly, its stealth performance may appeal to Japan where it would face new generations of fighters in China and Russia in near future.

Boeing, on the other hand, has appealed F-A-18E’s superiority in terms of product supply and cost while emphasizing the company was willing to offer 70-80% of the production for localization with licensing.

BAE Systems, proposing Eurofighter Typhoon,made a presentation in British Embassy in Tokyo with attendance of ambassadors of participating countries, in a unprecedented manner, and called for attention of Japanese decision makers for its superiority and price.

Defense Ministry would choose the type based on not only performance and price but how extensive Japanese corporations can engaged in production and maintenance as to keep production base of fighter business as the last of F-2 production has been completed recently without the immediate project in sight.

The ministry has already submitted its budget request for fiscal 2012 including JPY55.1 billion for acquisition of the first four aircraft of FX and will finalize the selection by the end of November.

New Intelligence Satellite Launched Successfully by H2A Heavy Lift; More Information on North Korea in Sight

                   From Nihon Keizai Shimbun/Asahi Shimbun, web editions, 23 September 2011       

           
Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and JAXA has launched the 19th unit of heavy lifter H2A carrying the Japanese government’s information gathering satellite Kogaku #4 on 1:36pm, 23 September (JST) from Tanegashima Space Center. The satellite was separated from the rocket and put into planned orbit and the launch was evaluated as successful. H2A has marked 13 consecutive launches without failure.

The new satellite is designed to monitor military installations in North Korea as well as large scale natural calamity by orbiting about 500km distance from the surface. It is equipped telescope and high end digital camera and will replaces the second unit of optical recognisance satellite whose designed life of five yeas had expired.

Japan plans to operate a combination of optical reconnaissance satellites and radar satellites. Current three units are all optical information gathering satellites and two of the three have already passed designed longevity. By launching a new generation of satellites, two optical and two radar equipped, Japan would obtain a new capabilities to monitor any selected place on the surface at least once a day, regardless of time and the weather.
           
Capabilities of the new optical satellite is classified but it may identify an object on the surface as small as 60cm.

Launching of indigenous information gathering satellites was initiated in 1998 after a missile launch over Japan by North Korea.