Japanese airlines adjust to persistent post-pandemic demand extremes

The stark imbalance in the Japanese international travel market is showing no signs of fading, as the glacial pace of the outbound recovery contrasts with surging inbound travel.

Despite the problematic outbound market, Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are benefitting from the strong overall financial performance of their international operations.

The inbound/outbound disconnect has become well-enough established that the airlines are adjusting their strategies accordingly. Economic and market conditions are not changing quickly enough to suggest that the imbalance will shift significantly in the near term.

In the meantime, leveraging inbound demand is allowing international capacity to continue recovering for both airlines.

Senior executives from JAL and ANA discussed these trends at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) annual assembly in Brunei on 13/14-Nov-2024.