Japan Airlines to resume Dallas service. Can new found profitability be maintained with expansion?

It is with some disappointment Japan Airlines (JAL) - once a global heavyweight and defining symbol of "Japan Inc." - concedes it has been quiet. A return in Nov-2015 on the Tokyo-Dallas route marks only the sixth international service JAL has opened or resumed since 2010.

Rival All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been on a growth streak, opening 14 routes since 2010, including four in 2015 alone. One of those is Houston, cementing Texas' recent Asian air service growth streak. Asia has emerged as the largest growth market for both Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International and Houston Intercontinental.

JAL's bankruptcy rehabilitation saved the carrier but came with complex restrictions that curtail growth. Entirely new services are in a grey area with ANA effectively deciding. But resumptions are permissible, hence JAL's Mar-2015 Osaka-Los Angeles re-launch and now Tokyo-DFW.