Japan Airlines (JAL) files for bankruptcy in $10 billion turnaround plan

Japan Airlines (JAL) filed for the country's fourth-largest bankruptcy under a 900 billion yen ($10 billion) turnaround plan after four government bailouts failed to revive Asia's most indebted carrier. Asia's largest airline will shed staff, cut unprofitable routes and retire older planes as it restructures. The airline, worth more than $6 billion as recently as March 2009, will be delisted following the bankruptcy, wiping out shareholders. JAL, which flew at least 45 million passengers last year, will continue operations. Kazuo Inamori, the 77-year-old Kyocera founder, has been named to oversee JAL's restructuring as CEO. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have made rival offers to invest in JAL or a restructured company to access routes in China and Japan.

JAL, Asia's first major flag carrier to seek bankruptcy, filled less than 65% of seats on domestic routes in each of the last 6 fiscal years. The airline suffered a 16th straight drop in overall passenger numbers in Nov 2009 as the global recession sapped travel. Worldwide international air travel likely fell 4.1% last year, causing industrywide losses of $11 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association.

- You could have pointed your finger at various factors like lack of management judgment, prolonged government support, rising oil prices, the global economy, or the unfolding trend of Peak Oil, Peak Airlines. There are plenty of reasons to choose from. But well, that was it. Now to see how they fare after the turnaround plan.

Toyota to double global production of hybrid vehicles by 2012

channelnewsasia.com :

Toyota plans to double its global production of hybrid vehicles in about two years, positioning such fuel-sipping cars as a core profit earner. The automaker recently notified parts suppliers that it intends to roll out about 800,000 hybrids domestically in 2010, with the figure to be raised to around 900,000 in 2011 and 1.1 million in 2012, the Nikkei reported. Toyota's 2009 hybrid vehicle output was estimated to be around 500,000.

Toyota also plans to sell an additional 10 new hybrid models from minivans, subcompacts to luxury cars within a few years, on top of its current lineups such as the 2010 Toyota Prius, Sai and Lexus HS250h. The world's biggest automaker now makes about 90% of its hybrid vehicles at home in Japan. In 2011, hybrids will likely account for about 30% of all vehicles that Toyota manufactures in Japan, up from the projected figure of about 20% for 2009, the Nikkei said. The petrol-electric Toyota Prius hybrid car was the best-selling car in Japan in 2009, becoming the first hybrid to top the annual rankings, with sales almost tripled from the previous year.

- In spite of the global recession, it looks like Toyota is on a roll with its hybrid line-up. And these plans are not new. The Asians including the Japanese and Chinese are reputed for long-term thinking. Back in 2005, Toyota announced plans to go to an all-hybrid vehicle model line-up. And this paragraph quotes from a 2006 entry : "Toyota Motor said that it would double the number of hybrid models it offers to 14 by the early years of the next decade as part of its effort to meet higher demand for fuel-efficient vehicles". I'll be looking out for Toyota to continue to execute on its plans to bring the next generation of lithium-ion powered hybrid, plug-in and EV technology to the rest of its line-up.

(2010-01-19 18:20:00 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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