JAL’s subsidiary to pick up Japan-Saipan route

Beginning October 2000, JALways, a low-cost subsidiary of Japan Airlines, will takeover JAL routes in Saipan as part of the airlines’ cost-cutting measure, according to district manager Yukiharu Enomoto.

Mr. Enomoto, however, assured the public that the change in carrier will not in any way change the schedule of flights and affect the quality of its service.

Cockpit crews of JALways (JAZ), used to be known as Japan Air Charter, were hired from Hawaii, while it’s cabin attendant were recruited from the Thai capital of Bangkok, where the airline company operates a cabin crew training center.

According to JAL’s Public Information Office, JALways is being transformed into a scheduled carrier and will gradually take over JAL routes to Pacific resort destinations.

Starting April 2000, JALways will begin taking short-range international flights from JAL. “The planned changes were first announced by JAL in mid-March when the airline announced its latest corporate plan for the period 1999-2001. The conversion will enhance the JAL Group’s competitive power in the international airline market,” according to a news release from JAL.

While JAZ was being created, the effects of Japan’s recession and increasing competition in international travel was severely affecting JAL, the parent company.

This led JAL to develop JAZ into a scheduled carrier operating on a wet-lease basis for JAL on high-density, low-yield tourist routes in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically on Japan-Hawaii service. Wet-lease operations cover the hiring of an aircraft, including the crew, to perform services for another airline or contractor.

JAZ started its wet-lease flights for JAL in 1992, operating a weekly flight between Sapporo and Honolulu and two weekly Fukuoka-Honolulu flights. Since April 1994, JAZ wet-lease operations for JAL have seen an increase.

While JAZ operation changes depending on the season, it has 49 weekly roundtrip flights for JAL on a wet-lease basis as of July 1, 1999. Of these, 35 were round-trip services between key cities in Japan and Hawaii, and there were seven daily roundtrip flights each between Tokyo-Bangkok-Osaka-Bangkok.

Other JAL subsidiary airlines are J-Air, JAL Express, Japan Transocean Airways and Japan Asia Airways.