JAL names new president

TOKYO: Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) said yesterday that its president Yoshiharu Ueki, who helped lead the company’s recovery from bankruptcy, would be replaced by a senior executive in April.

“Ueki, a former pilot who was named president in 2012, will become chairman while 56-year-old Yuji Akasaka, currently managing executive officer in charge of engineering and maintenance, will become the new president,’’ the company said.

Ueki said he had set a six-year presidential term as a goal.

“I wanted to pass the baton to the next generation before my energy became empty, and that came this year,” the 65-year-old said at a news conference.

Ueki is credited with being instrumental in revitalising the once-bankrupt carrier by slashing costs and clinching code-sharing deals. The challenge for his successor will be to gain back market share from rival ANA Holdings Inc.

“I want to continue developing our business with the intent of securing solid profitability, and not aimlessly pursue scale,” Akasaka said.

JAL was freed from governmentimposed restrictions on route expansion only last April, more than seven years after filing for bankruptcy and receiving a taxpayer-funded bailout.

“The management change seems a year late — not at all relating to competency but rather because a new strategy should be led by a new team,” said Will Horton, a senior analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation. “The biggest challenge for the new management team is to change company mindset, retaining financial discipline and strong service focus but being less unnecessarily conservative and more agile.”