American Airlines and Japan Airlines to launch trans-Pacific alliance

American Airlines and Japan Airlines Corp will formally launch a trans-Pacific alliance today (01-Apr-2011) (Wall Street Journal, 01-Apr-2011). The partnership allows American and JAL to coordinate schedules, set fares and market promotions jointly. Despite challenges in the Japan market, the two carriers are committed to the partnership "for the long term", said Tsutomu Ando, JAL's executive officer for international alliance.