Things in the Sky

Last week it was rumored that Delta was interested in taking a stake in Japan Airlines. Well, it’s now been reported that Air France and American are interested as well.

I’d love to see when each airline started talking to JAL. For example, did American start talking with them after Delta and/or Air France-KLM? A purchase by either would probably mean JAL leaving Oneworld for SkyTeam, which would certainly be a blow to the alliance.

In the SkyTeam arena, who is a better fit for JAL – Air France or Delta? Air France and JAL do have a codeshare agreement in place on some routes. Either way, the JAL addition would enhance the alliance’s Asian position. Korean Air and China Southern are already members.

But there are a few other things going on in the background. For one, the United States and Japan are working on an open skies agreement that they wish to complete by the end of this year. Second, All Nippon Airways (ANA) is looking for antitrust immunity that would allow it to enhance its partnership with its Star Alliance partners.

Yet another factor here is Tokyo’s airports two airports – Haneda and Narita. The setup there is similar to what Washington, DC has with National and Dulles – Haneda is closer to the city and has mainly domestic flights, while Narita has the long-haul flying. Haneda, however, is getting a fourth runway and a new international terminal, and the airport will be opened up to more overseas flying (there are only a few international flights currently). A stake in JAL might help to give these airlines access to that airport.

Another thing I was thinking about – in its recent deal with US Airways, Delta gave the airline some rights to Tokyo for a future flight from Phoenix. Was Delta in discussions with JAL at that time?

Anyway, this is certainly very interesting!