Japan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue a joint business agreement.
It is hoped the deal will improve customer convenience and enhance the quality of services provided by both carriers.
In 2002, the two airlines began offering codeshare flight operations between Japan and China.
To strengthen the partnership, JAL and China Eastern have signed on to apply and implement a joint business agreement within financial year 2019.
The agreement plans to include JAL’s domestic network featuring over 50 cities in Japan and over 80 on China’s domestic routes operated by China Eastern.
“We are delighted to announce that China Eastern and JAL plan to broaden our partnership in each market.
“We look to bring more benefits, more choices, and more value to our customers.
“We believe this partnership will generate more passenger traffic between the two countries and open up commercial opportunities,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, chairman of Japan Airlines.
The companies will now review regulatory conditions and apply for a joint business agreement through the authorities.
If approved, China Eastern and JAL will seek to deliver convenient travel options to customers with a comprehensive network throughout China and Japan.
“The joint business between China Eastern Airlines and Japan Airlines is a new cooperation on the basis of the broad market prospect in Sino-Japanese routes and the cooperation development trend in global civil aviation industry.
“This is the common strategic choice for both of us facing the future and customers.
“Meanwhile, this cooperation will inject fresh dynamic into the aviation market of China and Japan, and benefit not only the development of our two airlines, but also the people between the two sides achieving great results,” concluded Ma Xulun, the president of China Eastern Airlines.