JAL
 

Today, NW announced a cargo alliance with JAL. I've always thought they'd be a good fit for Wings, or even just a CO alliance. Wings definitely needs an Asian partner (OK, they need partners everywhere), and though JAL code-shares with AA, they are not part of oneworld.

I sure hope Wings isn't just an afterthought now with the KL/AZ divorce. What a coup it would be if they could lure BA in, eh?

Coup, yes. Likely? No.

The linchpin of OW is Rod Eddington, the CEO of BA. BA has equity stakes in QF and IB, and with Eddington's having previously been MD of CX, he knows most of the major players in CX, Swire and CITIC. Where BA goes, so do the others.

The far more likely scenario is that KL will get pulled out of wings, and pulled into OW.

I will be surprised if JL links with NW. They are just too many overlaps. NW uses NRT, home base of JL, as their hub for all Asian flights. There is very little to gain by forming an alliance, aside from creating a near monopoly to raise fare.

JL's strategy has been bilateral tie-ups, which are, in my view, quite extensive.

As of June, JL maintains either codeshares, ffp reciprocity or cargo alliance with 19 carriers:

- five of the eight oneworld carriers
- five of the 13 Star Alliance companies
- two of the Qualiflier carriers
- AF
- CP
- AZ
- JD (Japan Air System)
- MH
- VN
- NW --> the latest addition.

I don't believe that it is a requirement of either major alliance to sever ties with any competing airline.

Singapore owns a large stake in Virgin Atlantic (either 49% or 51%, I forget exactly). Virgin currently has no official plans to enter Star, which SQ is a member of. Virgin could hypothetically enter it, but I don't think it will happen: Virgin needs to steer clear of major alliances, or else it would kill their "NO WAY BA/AA" arguments (no one likes a hyptocrite, especially the government! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif).

One thing is clear, though: Until the demise of ANA, we won't see JAL in the Star Alliance. Talk about domination in Japan!