On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Asia’s largest airline by revenues JAL, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is a prepackaged bankruptcy during which a restructuring and reorganization will be led by the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan (ETIC).
While JAL is undergoing a sweeping change and reorganization process, it is not expected to affect airline’s day to day operations. According to the statement released by JAL, the company expects to continue operations as usual and keep their group’s business as it has been previously conducted. JAL apologized to all the parties that might be affected by the process and promised to come back as a new company, strengthening once more its long standing reputation as a leader in a passenger transportation and logistics industry worldwide.
JAL has secured a 1 trillion ($11 billion) state guarantee in order to keep planes in the skies. But it is expected that air carrier will shift its main focus from a larger international to a smaller, more efficient planes designed for regional flights.
The new management team will be led by a Kazuo Inamori, a 77 old business veteran, who has long earned his reputation as a strong leader and global thinker that has an ability to bring change when and where it is needed the most. He is a founder of an electronics maker, Kyocera.
One of the major challenges facing Inamori is global economic slowdown, uncertain fuel prices that might expose 40 billion yen in hedging contracts and formidable rivals like All Nippon Airways (ANA).
For some the situation may not look very attractive, but from the prospective of a tomorrow’s opportunities, management and regulators are upbeat about JAL’s future. Management is convinced that in 2010 global demand for goods and services will have a gradual but strong rebound which will contribute greatly to air cargo traffic increase. They expect to be able to be a leader in the market and repeat past successes. JAL used to own two thirds of Japanese air cargo traffic market. As far as the fuel price challenges are concerned, JAL has banks’, creditors’ and investor’s support to alter the contracts and come out of bankruptcy as a better adjusted and financially planned company.
When it comes to competition, JAL’s management sees an opportunity. As it is the case in numerous post bankruptcy performances, JAL will be a debt free, newly restructured and optimized organization. It will have the support of a government and leniency of creditors as far as the costs of the new capital is concerned, that might be needed to fund new investment opportunities. In addition to organizational and financial restructuring, JAL is planning to replace its fleet of 747s and MD90is by 33 smaller jets and 17 regional aircraft, which will allow the company to be more fuel efficient, cost effective and achieve greater capacity utilization and lower operational cost, especially fixed costs that have gone out of control in recent years.
In a summary, it has to be mentioned, that JAL has been a leader in Asian markets for years and it has all the potential needed to continue this long, hard earned legacy. It has been an ambassador of Japan around the world and will continue to be one for more years to come.
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