JAL, American Airlines to begin joint business in April

Japan Airlines (JAL) and its partner American Airlines said Tuesday they would start their revenue-sharing joint business on trans-Pacific flights in April. The venture includes the alignment of their 2011 summer schedules effective from March 27, expanded code-sharing and the introduction of common fares, JAL president Masaru Onishi told reporters.
The announcement follows approval by the US and Japanese authorities last year of antitrust immunity for the proposed joint trans-Pacific operations. Onishi said the new co-operation would improve the carriers' revenue by a combined 13 billion yen ($156.4 million) for the initial year. The joint business will apply to non-stop flights on 10 trans-Pacific routes initially, including those linking Tokyo to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver and those linking Chicago to Beijing and Shanghai.