oneworld welcomes Japan Airlines

Airline alliance oneworld has today (March 1) launched a campaign to boost travel to Japan, a month before Japan Airlines (JAL) joins the grouping.

The Japan Airlines Corporation is the largest airline operator in Asia and it will officially join oneworld on April 1, along with affiliates JALways, Japan Asia Airways, JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air.

The chief executives of all existing oneworld airlines met in Tokyo today to welcome JAL to the alliance and they discussed ambitious plans for Japan's tourism industry.

Approximately five million foreign holidaymakers visited Japan in 2003, but the government intends to increase this to ten million a year by 2010. Officials argue that an association with oneworld, which carried 315 million passengers a year, will prove critical in achieving this goal.

In conjunction with the Visit Japan campaign, all ten airlines in the new oneworld line-up will contribute to the growth of tourism in Japan during the next 12 months. In addition to special fares for travel to the country, many of the airlines will also offer frequent flier incentives and some will offer promotional in-flight videos to further Japan's cause.

And in reference to its own commitment to the alliance, Japan Airlines has unveiled a oneworld livery which it will paint on two of its Boeing 777s in April. One of these will be used for domestic travel and the other will be for international flights.

Haruka Nishimatsu, JAL group chief executive, said: "On behalf of oneworld, we are delighted to be able to support the Visit Japan Campaign through these initiatives. We hope that the alliance's efforts will increase awareness and interest in Japan worldwide. We look forward to welcoming all who come."

Before announcing plans to join oneworld, JAL was the largest airline in the world without a multilateral global alliance.

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