THE tie-up between Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines could entail more than joint flights between the two countries, as the Japanese flag carrier might acquire a stake in the troubled national airline, reports The Edge.

Quoting sources familiar with the development, it said there are high level talks for JAL to acquire a stake in Malaysia Airlines because of the close ties between Putrajaya and the Japanese government.

“JAL could be the one, we like all things Japanese and Kazanah (Nasional) has been selling assets to the Japanese recently,” said the source, referring to the disposal of Khazanah’s 16% stake in IHH Bhd to Mitsui  &Co last year.

Khazanah is also the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking government officer told The Edge that at this point, the tie-up is just a joint venture.

In June, JAL president Yuji Asaka said it is too early to consider an equity investment in Malaysia Airlines but future discussions were possible.

At this juncture, Jentayu Danaraksha Sdn Bhd is the only company which has submitted a proposal to Morgan Stanley, the US advisory firm appointed to find a solution for the ailing national carrier.

The tie-up between JAL and Malaysia Airlines is for flights between Malaysia and Japan.

The partnership between the two One World Alliance members will entail coordination and cooperation in areas, such as schedule and capacity, sales and marketing, performance monitoring and revenue planning for the Malaysia-Japan route.

JAL filed for bankruptcy in 2010. At the time of the filing, the biggest airline in Asia also became the biggest case of insolvency outside the financial sector in Japan.

JAL was saddled with debts amounting ¥2.32 trillion (RM85 billion) when it filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

The airline returned to the black in 2011/2012 becoming the world’s most profitable airline after recording a profit of ¥186.6 billion.

In April 2017, JAL was freed from government-imposed restrictions on route expansions. – September 15, 2019.