News
Japan Airlines and Hawaiian seek antitrust immunity
June 22nd 2018
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Hawaiian Airlines have filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) seeking immunity from antitrust laws so they can form a trans-Pacific joint venture (JV). Read More »
If approved, this will be Hawaiian’s first JV and the first JV in the U.S. that does not involve one of the “Big Three” U.S. carriers.
The antitrust immunized joint venture will build upon the codeshare partnership the two carriers began in March allowing them to coordinate marketing and sales efforts and share costs and revenue on their joint venture routes.
Hawaiian and JAL estimate that the JV will bring an additional 162,000 to 350,000 passengers to Hawaii and contribute between US$184.5-$402.3 million to the U.S. economy annually, while generating between 1,855 to 4,049 U.S. jobs.
“We have long admired JAL’s excellent service, which corresponds well with the authentic Hawaiian hospitality we offer,” said Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO, Peter Ingram. “This joint venture will combine two premier brands in the highly competitive Japan-Hawaii market. Travellers from both of our countries will benefit.”
“Through our new partnership with Hawaiian Airlines, we hope to boost travel of not only Japanese visitors to and through the beautiful Hawaiian Islands, but also that of Hawaii residents seeking to travel to and beyond Japan to Asian countries on our seamless networks,” said JAL president, Yuji Akasaka.
If approved, the antitrust joint venture will give Hawaiian greater access to 34 Japanese domestic destinations and 11 regional destinations in Asia. For JAL, the joint venture will bring the carrier into Hawaiian’s intra-island network and its Haneda-Honolulu and Sapporo-Honolulu flights.
Hawaiian and JAL hope to win government approval later this year in time to launch the JV in the second quarter of 2019. JAL has a JV with American Airlines on Japan-U.S. routes.
The increased cooperation between JAL and Hawaiian is an attempt to thwart rival All Nippon Airways’ planned expansion in Hawaii. The Star Alliance member will operate three A380s on flights to Hawaii from 2019 and is building a dedicated A380 lounge at Honolulu International Airport.
