Japan Airlines Corp., the holding company of the JAL group, plans to appoint its president, Toshiyuki Shinmachi, as the group's next chief executive officer.
Company sources said Wednesday that the plan is expected to be approved Thursday by JAL's board of directors and will take effect in late June. Shinmachi will replace Isao Kaneko.
Shinmachi, 62, joined the former JAL in 1965 and has acted as the holding firm's president since last June.
Kaneko, 67, will remain as chairman of the holding company, but will hand over the group's CEO post to Shinmachi to rejuvenate the management, the sources said.
The holding company was created by the integration of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co. in October 2002.