Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
JAPAN AIRLINES (JAL) and British Airways have both denied that they have sealed a secret agreement to form a strategic alliance, although neither denies that talks have taken place.
The claims were made by Virgin's Richard Branson, when he stopped off in Hong Kong on 16 October, after a meeting with Japan's transport ministry in Tokyo. He told reporters that the ministry had already approved the tie-up, adding that Virgin had already sent a letter of protest to the UK Office of Fair Trading.
"We've no secret agreement with BA," says JAL, but adds that it is "-interested in extending our relationship with other carriers". BA chief executive Robert Ayling, who was also in Hong Kong, has reportedly issued a similar qualified denial. "We've made no secret of the fact that we are trying to develop a world alliance- We've made an agreement with American Airlines. We have no agreement with anyone else," he says.
Branson says that the ministry went as far as suggesting that Virgin form an alliance with All Nippon Airways to counter JAL and BA. He says that the agreement is being kept quiet until BA's proposed alliance with American Airlines is approved.
Japanese sources, however, suggest that the Japanese transport officials who met with Branson treated his questions concerning a tie-up between JAL and BA as "hypothetical".
There has been growing talk of a possible alliance ever since BA chairman Sir Colin Marshall travelled to Japan to meet with his JAL counterpart, Susumu Yamaji. The meeting, described at the time as "more than a courtesy call", came shortly after BA and American had announced their intention to form an alliance (Flight International, 26 June-2 July, P5).
Source: Flight International
