Japan Airlines to change
unit for Hawaii flights

From staff and wire reports

Japan Airlines flights to Hawaii soon will be flown by a new low-cost subsidiary called JALways, but since many of its island flights are already handled in a similar manner, no change should be visible, the airline's spokesman in Hawaii said today.

Japan Airlines Co. announced in March that it would make changes to cut costs; the latest change is to create JALways, which will gradually take over the Hawaii service, starting in October with the Tokyo-Kona-Honolulu-Tokyo route.

JALways will lease its aircraft to JAL as well as its crews, mostly recruited in America, and flight attendants, mostly recruited in Bangkok.

Robert Kimura, JAL's Hawaii regional sales manager, said about 80 percent of JAL's 11 or so daily Japan-Hawaii flights are already handled that way by an existing subsidiary, Japan Air Charter Co.

Later this year, Japan Air Charter will evolve into JALways to make it clear that it is a regularly scheduled carrier and no longer a charter operation.

JALways will operate on international leisure routes at costs expected to be about 10 percent below those of Japan Airlines.