Newsmakers
“Red ink company” will be profitable, predicts JAL Chairman
July 1st 2015
As for another part of Jetstar’s business, JAL’s investment in low-cost carrier, Jetstar Japan, Japan Airlines chairman, Masaru Onishi said: “We are not satisfied. Who would be satisfied with a red ink company? Read More »
“We are investors so we do not make comments about their business model, but as an investor we don’t like any red ink company.”
Neverthless, when the joint venture with the Qantas Group was originally signed off, it was accepted the airline would lose money for a period of time.
“It is a longer term investment and Alan (Alan Joyce CEO of the Qantas Group) has confidence Jetstar Japan will be in the black,” he said.
Onishi believed Jetstar Japan should be flying internationally to as many cities as feasible as soon as possible, particularly into China.
“How can we compete with the very low costs of the Chinese airlines. They don’t care about supply and demand. There is huge supply available, and with ticket prices going down, how can we compete? We cannot, so Jetstar Japan must expand onto short haul routes into China,” he said. Jetstar Japan opened its first international route, to Hong Kong, earlier this year.
