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BD/JAL Says 'Sayanora' to Bali
(5/1/2010) Facing life-threatening financial difficulties, Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced drastic steps to cease operations at over 15 international routes in an effort to stem the hemorrhaging losses of the airline that was forced to file for bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2010.
The dramatic cost-saving measures not only include the cessation of services to 15 international destinations but also include the termination of 30 domestic routes.
According to flightglobal.com the cuts will shave 40% of the airlines international passenger capacity and 30% of its domestic seats.
With the reduction of flights 11 overseas operations bases will be closed together with 8 domestic offices. Bali is included among the ports where JAL will close its doors.
In addition to Bali, flights will also be stopped between Japan Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, Kona-Honolulu, Milan, Rome, Brisbane, Guam, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing.
The cessation of service to all the named cities will take place in a phased fashion starting from September 30, 2010.
The network curtailment by JAL will be undertaken while the airline will triple the number of international flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport from the current 5 daily flights to 14. New services from Haneda will serve Taipei Songshan, San Francisco, Honolulu, Bangkok and Paris starting from October 31, 2010. JAL also plans to increase the number of flights from Tokyo to Seoul Gimpo, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai Hongqiao.
Industry experts peg JAL's debt at a massive US$25.8 billion, a situation which has prompted the airline to slash flights, offices and personnel.
