JAL, China Eastern to seek approval for joint business agreement

TOKYO - Japan Airlines (JAL) and China Eastern Airlines have signed an MoU to pursue a joint business agreement, effective this financial year (ending March 2019).

The two airlines have been offering codeshare flight operations between Japan and China since 2002.

The new agreement would cover JAL’s domestic network of more than 50 cities in Japan and more than 80 China domestic routes operated by China Eastern.

"We are delighted to announce that China Eastern and JAL plan to broaden our partnership in each market,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, Chairman of Japan Airlines.

“We look to bring more benefits, more choices, and more value to our customers.

“We believe this partnership will generate more passenger traffic between the two countries and open up commercial opportunities."

Ma Xulun, President of China Eastern Airlines, said the joint business plan between China Eastern and JAL had been agreed on the basis of broad market prospects in Sino-Japanese routes and co-operation development trends in global civil aviation.

“This co-operation will inject fresh dynamics into the aviation market of China and Japan,” he said.

 Following a review of regulatory conditions JAL and China Eastern will seek formal approval from authorities.  www.jal.com (ATI).