JAL, China Eastern JV Will Achieve “Great Results”

Japan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have signed an agreement to form a joint business agreement, ramping up their existing codeshare relationship to include domestic flights.

The joint venture is expected to launch during 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. The two airlines have been codesharing on Japan-China international flights since 2002.

“We are delighted to announce that China Eastern and JAL plan to broaden our partnership in each market,” JAL’s chairman Yoshiharu Ueki said. “We believe [it] will generate more passenger traffic between the two countries and open up commercial opportunities.”

The agreement, when approved, will include JAL’s domestic Japanese network serving over 50 cities and China Eastern’s 80-plus destination Chinese network.

“This cooperation will inject fresh dynamic into the aviation market of China and Japan, and benefit not only the development of our two airlines, but also the people between the two sides achieving great results,” China Eastern’s president Ma Xulun said.

Chinese visitors to Japan make up the largest inbound tourist group, rising 29.3 percent in May 2018 from the previous year to 668,600 visits.