Japan Airlines (JAL) will stop dedicated freighter services from end-October, and offer only cargo belly space on its passenger aircraft from then as part of a plan to increase yields and return to profitability.
"Market conditions for the international cargo business are expected to remain severe," says the Oneworld alliance member, which has a JALCARGO freighter division.
"To adapt to this, JALCARGO will shift from using a combination of freighter flights and passenger flights to exclusively utilising the belly space of passenger flights - a new cargo business structure that aims to secure a stable profit and that can boost the recovery of JAL's financial standing."
The cargo division has seven Boeing 747-400Fs and three Boeing 767-300Fs in its fleet. JAL's passenger flights operate on all of the routes served by the cargo business, except for its services to Anchorage.
"JAL will retire its freighter aircraft gradually," says an airline spokeswoman.
"Around 55% of our total freight in terms of tonnage is already carried on our passenger flights. The total available cargo space on JAL passenger aircraft is equivalent to seven widebody freighters, or approximately three times the volume available on scheduled freighter flights."
She adds that the airline will restructure the cargo division in the coming months as part of its reorganisation.
In early March, JAL ended negotiations to merge with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). The two had begun discussions on a possible merger in August 2009, but that fell through this year. However, the carriers plan to continue with their existing business relationship, including code-sharing on flights.
JAL reported a net loss of ¥47 billion ($510.4 million)) for the three months ending 31 December, an increase of 20% from a year before. This came as operating revenues fell 22% to ¥381 billion.
Despite an upturn in the global cargo markets, JAL's freight business remained soft with revenue cargo tonne kilometres falling by 20% for the same period.
The carrier filed for bankruptcy protection on 19 January after incurring ¥2.3 trillion in debt. It has embarked on a financial restructuring process by cutting unprofitable routes, slashing workforce numbers and renewing its fleet.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
