14-Sep-2009 11:35 AM
ANA expected to seek JV with Star partners following US-Japan open skies agreement
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is reportedly expected to seek a JV will its Star Alliance members, including United Airlines and Lufthansa, upon the completion of the US-Japan open skies agreement (Financial Times, 14-Sep-2009).
US Government: "ANA has a very strong interest [in obtaining antitrust immunity]. That's led the Japanese government to be willing, as it has not been in the past, to consider 'open skies'," John Byerly, State Department Negotiator. Source: Dow Jones, 11-Sep-2009.