Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan embrace LCC hybridity, codesharing – and reap rewards

While some parts of the industry spend time seeking to define what makes a low-cost carrier or debating who is and is not a "true" LCC, most airlines are looking past labels and instead offering services that give them a yield premium and expand traffic flows.

This hybridisation of airlines that, by their own term, started as LCCs is exemplified by Jetstar. One feature that may be most contentious for a LCC to have is interline and codeshare relationships. Jetstar has three codeshare and 25 interline agreements following the main addition of Jetstar Japan codesharing with part owner Japan Airlines. This will further help Jetstar increase interline and codeshare revenue, which grew 80% in 2012.

The Jetstar Japan-JAL deal has its own nuances worthy of examination. Not only is this a partnership between one of the most adaptive LCCs and what was one of the most hardened legacy carriers, the relationship will enable JAL to expand its domestic network virtually and at a low cost, critical for high-cost JAL at a time of transformation in North Asia.