JAL Cargo and NCA merge

Japan Airlines’ (JAL) cargo division and Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) have agreed to merge.

Both agreed to the start negotiations once the Japanese authorities have given their permission to go ahead.

In a statement, JAL said that the move had been necessitated due to “the collapse of the economy in the United States last autumn”, which will surely come as a surprise to the US. It went on to say: “The financial crisis that spread worldwide caused demand for air cargo transport to fall drastically and market situations to worsen. In view of this, as a precondition for continued growth and development into the future, both companies are focusing on improving profitability in the present situation.

“Through a major restructuring of the cargo business and by combining the strengths of the two largest cargo operators in Japan to form the biggest solitary Japanese cargo transport provider, JAL and NCA foresee being able to secure profitability and raise the value of both companies.”

JAL and NCA started code-sharing flights for the first time in March this year.

The new business structure is targeted to start from April 1, 2010.

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