JAL dumps Oneworld

Japan Airlines will quit Oneworld and join Skyteam following the strengthening of a partnership with Delta Airlines. The change was officially announced by JAL?s new chairman, Kazuo Inamori on Monday.

The Mainichi Daily News, a Tokyo-based newspaper, reported that a bid by American Airlines with a private equity firm to invest US$1.4 billion in JAL had been turned down.

Delta had previously offered US$1.02 billion in financial support to JAL, including US$500 million as part of a new investment. However, state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan overseeing JAL?s restructuring process apparently advised the airline that foreign financing was unnecessary for recovery, and elected to restrict any involvement with Delta to business collaboration.

Sourced = The TTR Weekly