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Relationship with JAL: Delta or American?
Fliers in the United States may get more options when traveling to Japan, but it's unsure which airline will be the one to deliver. Both Delta and American are said to be in talks with Japan Airlines, and the winner is likely to have greater access to the largest travel market in Asia. Delta's deal is reported to be worth several hundred million dollars, while the American Airlines offer is said to be in excess of $1 billion.
For travelers, the result will be more choices when traveling to Japan. In addition to route sharing, frequent flier programs will show the impact of the relationship that either Delta or American will win ... assuming they can get past the regulators. For Delta, the main problem will be that the largest airline in the United States will have a significant relationship with the largest airline in Japan, raising issues about competition.
It's still early in the game, and the talks aren't even being revealed by the airlines themselves. A tough financial year for the airline industry is likely to be a factor in any final deal, as well. There are a lot of moving parts, and it will take time to show which ones will eventually fit together.
Filed under: Business, Asia, North America, Japan, United States, Airlines
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ryan Walean Sep 13th 2009 4:03PM
I might be supporting more on Delta rather than American, because Delta already has a hub in Tokyo-Narita, which was actually taken by the merger of Northwest Airlines last year, and Northwest Airlines was one of the guys who started JAL. On the other hand, American Airlines might have an extensive agreement with JAL on transpacific operations, but American Airlines do not have intra-Asia services, unlike Delta (under Northwest right now) do.
In addition, JAL still have codeshares with Delta partners Korean Air and Air France, and if Delta Air Lines gets the help with Air France, the DL-AF-KLM team might just snatch that deal from American, though the American Airlines offer might be bigger than the DL-AF-KLM partnership combined.
However, it's three airlines from two airline groups vs. just one airline - maybe looking beyond United States (such as Europe) might be a good factor - JAL did also talk with Air France about expanding European airline industry business. DL-AF-KLM are part of SkyTeam, while JAL-AA are part of Oneworld; I don't know if JAL would move with SkyTeam and the DL-AF-KLM partnership. We'll just have to see about that, as we still have to hear about the restructuring plans JAL is thinking about later this month, and it might not be until the end of the year/early next year about deciding which alliance they will move on...