TOKYO – Speaking on Sunday morning TV Japan’s minister for transport said that Japan Airlines (JAL), Asia's biggest airline, will not be forced into bankruptcy.
Minister Seiji Maehara said that: 'we will not crush and liquidate (the airline),’ further adding that 'it's just impossible.'
JAL, which suffered its biggest-ever quarterly net loss of $1.56 billion in the three months to June, has requested a government bail out to secure itself for the future. This request comes after the airline received 60 billion yen in loans from the government-owned Development Bank of Japan in June.
On Friday the Japanese government appointed a team of experts to create a restructuring plan for the airline. They are to make recommendations to the transport minister in the next six weeks as to how best to deal with JAL’s financial crisis.
JAL has also been reportedly holding talks on financial tie-ups with several other airlines including Delta Air Lines Inc, American Airlines Inc and Air France-KLM, though to date these stories remain speculation.
