Effective October 25, 2020, Japan Airlines Group subsidiaries Japan Air Commuter and Hokkaido Air System will join the oneworld® global alliance as an affiliate of JAL, providing more opportunities for guests to earn and redeem flights across Japan.
Today (October 20, 2020), oneworld® announced that Japan Airlines Group’s regional subsidiaries, Japan Air Commuter and Hokkaido Air System will join the alliance as affiliates of Japan Airlines. The two carriers serve over 20 Japanese regional destinations with more than 90 daily flights. Japan Airlines is a majority stakeholder in both airlines, which carried nearly 900,000 passengers in 2019. Japan Airlines joined oneworld in 2007 and the company’s J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air subsidiaries are already oneworld affiliates. The new partnership will enable customers to access oneworld benefits on flights across Japan from October 25, 2020. The two affiliates will add four new destinations in Japan to the oneworld network to the more than 50 airports already served, namely Kikai (KKX), Okinoerabu (OKE), Tajima (TJH) and Yakushima (KUM).
In Tuesday’s announcement, Japan Airlines Regional Vitalization Division Executive Officer, Shunsuke Honda, said,
“With our oneworld partners, we look forward to welcoming customers across the world to rediscover the joy of travel and help revitalize regional sites throughout the country. These two airlines feature flights to beautiful destinations on the northern island of Hokkaido and Kagoshima, located at the south end of the Japanese archipelago.”
JAL’s International Relations and Alliances Executive Officer, Hideki Oshima, added,
“It is an honour for the JAL Group to further strengthen the alliance, providing more choices for our mutual customers. Our dedicated team of professionals will be ready to offer a safe and secure travel experience once international travel resumes on a global scale.”
Also commenting on Tuesday’s announcement, oneworld’s CEO, Rob Gurney, said,
“We are pleased to expand the oneworld footprint in Japan alongside our valued partner Japan Airlines, through the addition of another two of their high-quality affiliates to the alliance. Japan Air Commuter and Hokkaido Air System will provide even greater connectivity in Japan to customers, growing our position in one of the key markets in Asia.”
Established in 1983, Japan Air Commuter is based in Kagoshima on Japan’s Kyushu Island and serves the Islands of Kagoshima, Okinawa and western Japan. The carrier operates a fleet of ATR-42/72 turboprop aircraft and from October 25, 2020 flights will be offered under the JL code. Hokkaido Air System was established in 1997 and is based in Hokkaido, Sapporo. The airline operates a fleet of Saab 340Bs and ATR-42s and serves Hokkaido Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture on Honshu.
The oneworld® global alliance includes American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines as well as over 20 affiliates. Alaska Airlines is a oneworld “member-elect” and Fiji Airways is a oneworld connect partner. Combined, members of the alliance serve more than 1,000 airports in over 170 countries and territories. Annually, oneworld members serve nearly 540 million passengers and operate a fleet of over 3,600 aircraft. Oneworld’s top-tier Emerald and Sapphire cardholders enjoy access to more than 650 global airport lounges and are entitled to extra baggage alliances, while Emerald cardholders also enjoy fast track security clearance at select airports.
Source: oneworld®