JAL forges new cooperation with Malaysia Airlines, expands Gaurda codeshare

May 3rd 2019

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JAL and Malaysia Airlines propose a joint business for Japan-Malaysia market. Read More »

Japan’s airlines are expanding cooperation with Southeast Asian peers to capture growing local traffic and boost partnerships for competitive transfer traffic.

Japan Airlines (JAL) and Malaysia Airlines are seeking regulatory approval for a metal-neutral joint business between Japan and Malaysia, covering trunk routes and domestic connections but excluding third-country connections.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) flies twice daily to Kuala Lumpur while AirAsia X has an extensive Japanese network. JAL and Malaysia Airlines are members of oneworld but have not previously had notable codesharing or other partnerships.

There was not a mention if the partnership was revenue-sharing or profit-sharing. The partnership was disclosed in a MAVCOM briefing inviting feedback. The full application was not disclosed, but MAVCOM summarised the key benefit being “increased capacity and improved scheduling on trunk routes” without further details.

MAVCOM also said “contemporaneous benefits will accrue to the Malaysian economy through strengthening trade ties between Malaysia and Japan, potential increases in traffic to Malaysia, and the promotion of Kuala Lumpur International Airport as an air hub”.

JAL is expanding its existing codeshare with Garuda Indonesia by codesharing on Garuda’s Jakarta flights to Nagoya and Osaka. JAL already codeshares on Garuda’s flights to Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita, while Garuda codeshares on JAL’s only Indonesia flight, Tokyo Narita-Jakarta. The two have also expanded domestic codeshares.

ANA has taken a different approach by investing in two Southeast Asian airlines, Philippine Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.