Money
Home > Breaking News > Money > Story
Jan 19, 2010
JAL files for bankruptcy
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> The ups and downs of Japan Airlines
TOKYO - JAPAN Airlines is expected to file for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, capping a dramatic fall from grace by the once-proud carrier. Following are milestones in JAL's half-century history.
1951: Established as a private airline.
1953: Government takes a 50-percent stake.
1954: Flies first international route to San Francisco via Honolulu.
1960s: Expands international routes as economy booms and 1964 Tokyo Olympics boost the number of foreign tourists.
1973: JAL flight from Amsterdam is hijacked by Palestinian and Japanese extremists. All passengers and crew are released at an airport in Libya where the aircraft is destroyed by a bomb.
1981: JAL becomes the top international air cargo operator.
1983: Becomes the top carrier for scheduled international operations.
1985: A JAL Boeing-747 domestic flight crashes in central Japan, killing 520 of the 524 people aboard in the worst single-airplane accident ever.
1987: JAL is fully privatised.
1998: Airline admits ties with organised crime in a massive scandal.
2001: Two JAL airplanes narrowly avoid a mid-air collision. Company requests public assistance after air travel demand slumps following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
2003: Seeks more public assistance amid Sars and Iraq war.
2004: Completes merger with Japan Air System.
2005: Unveils plans to slash 5,900 jobs.
2007: Announces further 4,300 job cuts. Joins oneworld airline alliance.
2009: Reports US$1.5 billion (S$2.08 billion) half-year loss and receives US$1.1 billion emergency loan from a state-owned lender to keep flying. US carriers American Airlines and Delta Air Lines bid for stake in JAL.
2010: Government doubles a loan to JAL to US$2.2 billion. JAL seeks more funds and prepares to file for bankruptcy protection and slash jobs amid a court-led rehabilitation process. Shares crash.
The decision was taken at at meeting of JAL?s board of executives. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO - JAPAN Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection in one of the biggest corporate failures in Japanese history. A state-backed corporate turnaround agency said on Tuesday it received confirmation from the carrier that it had applied for protection from creditors under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law - Japan's version of Chapter 11. The widely expected move culminates a process that began in October when Asia's biggest airline first turned to the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan for help. It was saddled with debts of 1.5 trillion yen (S$22.9 billion), falling passenger traffic and swelling pension costs. JAL will slash about 15,600 jobs and receive a US$3.3 billion (S$4.58 billion) injection of public funds as part of a massive overhaul under a prepackaged restructuring plan to shed the fat and inefficiency that undermined its finances. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said shares in Japan Airlines Corp will be delisted on Feb 20. JAL gave assurance that its flight operations would not be interrupted by the bankruptcy move. -- AP, AFP, REUTERS
Home > Breaking News > Money > Story
Jan 19, 2010
JAL files for bankruptcy
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> The ups and downs of Japan Airlines
TOKYO - JAPAN Airlines is expected to file for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, capping a dramatic fall from grace by the once-proud carrier. Following are milestones in JAL's half-century history.
1951: Established as a private airline.
1953: Government takes a 50-percent stake.
1954: Flies first international route to San Francisco via Honolulu.
1960s: Expands international routes as economy booms and 1964 Tokyo Olympics boost the number of foreign tourists.
1973: JAL flight from Amsterdam is hijacked by Palestinian and Japanese extremists. All passengers and crew are released at an airport in Libya where the aircraft is destroyed by a bomb.
1981: JAL becomes the top international air cargo operator.
1983: Becomes the top carrier for scheduled international operations.
1985: A JAL Boeing-747 domestic flight crashes in central Japan, killing 520 of the 524 people aboard in the worst single-airplane accident ever.
1987: JAL is fully privatised.
1998: Airline admits ties with organised crime in a massive scandal.
2001: Two JAL airplanes narrowly avoid a mid-air collision. Company requests public assistance after air travel demand slumps following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
2003: Seeks more public assistance amid Sars and Iraq war.
2004: Completes merger with Japan Air System.
2005: Unveils plans to slash 5,900 jobs.
2007: Announces further 4,300 job cuts. Joins oneworld airline alliance.
2009: Reports US$1.5 billion (S$2.08 billion) half-year loss and receives US$1.1 billion emergency loan from a state-owned lender to keep flying. US carriers American Airlines and Delta Air Lines bid for stake in JAL.
2010: Government doubles a loan to JAL to US$2.2 billion. JAL seeks more funds and prepares to file for bankruptcy protection and slash jobs amid a court-led rehabilitation process. Shares crash.
The decision was taken at at meeting of JAL?s board of executives. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO - JAPAN Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection in one of the biggest corporate failures in Japanese history. A state-backed corporate turnaround agency said on Tuesday it received confirmation from the carrier that it had applied for protection from creditors under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law - Japan's version of Chapter 11. The widely expected move culminates a process that began in October when Asia's biggest airline first turned to the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan for help. It was saddled with debts of 1.5 trillion yen (S$22.9 billion), falling passenger traffic and swelling pension costs. JAL will slash about 15,600 jobs and receive a US$3.3 billion (S$4.58 billion) injection of public funds as part of a massive overhaul under a prepackaged restructuring plan to shed the fat and inefficiency that undermined its finances. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said shares in Japan Airlines Corp will be delisted on Feb 20. JAL gave assurance that its flight operations would not be interrupted by the bankruptcy move. -- AP, AFP, REUTERS
