Current recession woes have forced Japan Airlines (JAL) to suspend services indefinitely to three Mainland China cities on December 7, 2009. These are Osaka Kansai-Hangzhou and Tokyo Narita-Hangzhou, Tokyo Narita-Qingdao and Tokyo-Narita-Xiamen. JAL offices there will shut down as well.
The cost-cutting exercise will likewise affect Osaka Kansai-Busan and Osaka Kansai-Hanoi on January 12, 2010, followed by Singapore-Kuala Lumpur on January 17 and Vancouver-Mexico City on January 18, all of which will cease indefinitely.
The airline announced it would use smaller aircraft on some routes and would reduce the frequency of Tokyo Narita-London Heathrow from 14 flights to seven flights weekly and Tokyo Narita-Taipei from 28 flights to 21 flights weekly, both from December 7.
Eight domestic routes, among them Tokyo Narita-Kobe and Kobe-Okinawa, will also be stopped indefinitely in the period between February and June of 2010.
The airline continues to be in talks with its government to devise a financial recovery plan.
For more details, visit www.jal.com
Margie T Logarta
