The global aviation industry faces increased competition among the three biggest airline groupings now that both of Japan's leading carriers are part of the alliances.
Japan Airlines Corp. on April 1 gained full membership in the oneworld alliance, and JAL said this will help turn around the fortunes of the struggling carrier, which has been hit by rising jet fuel costs and a series of safety glitches.
With the addition of JAL, Royal Jordanian and Malev Hungarian, oneworld is now a 10-airline grouping whose combined fleet of 2,382 aircraft serves almost 700 airports in 142 countries and areas and offers 9,241 flights a day.