Japan Airlines chairman sees ‘huge’ potential with Toyota’s arrival at D/FW

The Dallas Morning News – April 12, 2016 – After upping the frequency of its recently launched service to include daily flights to Tokyo from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Japan Airlines is looking for more ways to tap the “huge” potential of the North Texas market, the company’s chairman and director Masaru Onishi said.

Shifting demographics and the arrival of Toyota’s North American headquarters in Plano will help stoke demand for access to Japan and beyond, Onishi predicted.

And while the company isn’t looking at adding more flights to Texas at this point, a shift to a larger plane with first-class seating on its existing D/FW to Tokyo route could be in the offing, Onishi told The Dallas Morning News.

In Dallas last week for the World Travel and Tourism Council’s global summit, Onishi sat down with the Morning News to discuss his company’s return to North Texas after a 14-year absence, plans for growth at D/FW and the company’s continued partnership with American Airlines.

On the potential of the D/FW market:

Japan Airlines’ return to North Texas came as the company was exploring ways to expand its service to new U.S. markets, Onishi said.

With more people migrating from the coasts to the middle of the country and the relocation of 3,000 or more Toyota employees to its new North American headquarters in Plano, reinstating service from D/FW to Tokyo’s Narita Airport was a logical choice.

“We found there was an open window at the end of last year to start the operation,” he said. “We reached the conclusion that this is the time.”

So far, the route has been a success, but there’s still room to grow, he said.

“Right now our [Boeing] 787 doesn’t have first-class seats. But maybe many of the VIPs of Japanese companies or U.S. companies will use our direct flight,” he said. “Our thinking is to put a larger aircraft with first class seats [on the route]. That’s the first issue for us.”

On the company’s partnership with American Airlines:

Onishi said Japan Airlines’ joint venture with American Airlines, where the two companies share revenues on Tokyo-bound flights, represents a broader shift toward alliance-based competition in the airline industry.

“From the aspect of operational efficiency and economics, it is very difficult for one airline to expand globally to cover a worldwide network,” he said. “But the customers’ desire is to use one product. If we have a world network, maybe the customer will be satisfied. But it is very difficult for us [to do alone] so we must shake hands with partners.”

One thing Onishi said he’d like to see was a more standardized level of service across the various partner airlines that make up the Oneworld alliance.

“Oneworld alliance airlines are focusing on the customer experience. Still we have some difference of service levels, maybe based on the culture. We’d like to make some coordination on the level of services,” he said.

On the airline’s plans for growth:

With Japan’s population shrinking, Onishi said much of his airline’s opportunity will come in foreign markets, including the U.S., Europe and especially other parts of Asia. But he said antitrust concerns have limited Japan Airlines ability to make inroads in other Asian markets.

“Those areas are emerging markets so we must attack them,” he said. “It is very difficult to penetrate the market. The Asian side must be more like the European Union, with a free economic area.”

Tourism to Japan has grown dramatically over the past decade and Onishi said he expects that to continue with an emerging Asian middle class.

Japan Airlines hopes to capture some of that growth by emphasizing its unique service and company culture, he said.

However, Japan will need to figure out ways to improve its tourism infrastructure, specifically hotels and transportation, to accommodate the increased tourism, he said.

“Right now, we’re focusing on the appeal of the treasure of Japan. Japan has over 2,000 years of history, and we can find potential treasures,” he said. “I’d like to dig it up and we’d like to appeal to the world.”

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