JAL, ANA Plan Major Cuts in Flight Services Amid High Fuel Costs
Posted on: Wednesday, 6 August 2008, 18:00 CDT
Tokyo, Aug. 6 (Jiji Press)--Japan Airlines is set on Thursday to announce plans to scrap or reduce flight services on a total of 16 domestic and five international routes between October and March, a drastic cutback that comes in response to steep rises in fuel prices.
Rival All Nippon Airways announced on Wednesday plans to end or reduce services on a total of 11 domestic and international routes in the fiscal second half.
The moves by the two major Japanese airlines represent their largest-ever service cuts.
The downsizing is expected to continue beyond March, particularly on flights involving rural areas in Japan. Local airports and economies are expected to be hard hit, industry experts say.
Internationally, JAL is slated to eliminate services including those between Narita International Airport near Tokyo and Xian in China, Chubu International Airport in central Japan and South Korea's Pusan, and Fukuoka Airport in southwestern Japan and Shanghai.
The company has also been forced to scale down services using Kansai International Airport near Osaka, despite the airport's long resistance out of consideration for local businesses.
Such downsizing apparently was not on the mind of JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu as recently as February when he said that maintaining the existing network was the biggest service the airline could offer.
But the price of jet fuel has soared to a record 180 dollars per barrel in July, against the company's initial forecast of 110 dollars.
Nishimatsu later said that if the company fell into financial trouble, it might lose the ability to retain its flight network.
ANA is due to cut such international routes as the one between Kansai and Guam and to reduce a number of domestic services.
President Mineo Yamamoto said that the airline wants to scrap loss-making local services next year as well.END
(c) 2008 Jiji Press English News Service. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Jiji Press English News Service
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