JAL aggressively shedding "bad habits"; expecting high profitability in Sep-2010 quarter

Japan Airlines Chairman Kazuo Inamori stated the carrier is aggressively shedding its "bad habits" and moving towards financial health at a faster than expected pace (Associated Press/Wall Street Jounral, 20-Oct-2010). Mr Kazuo at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan stated that when he joined the airline nine months again "there was little sense of crisis about bankruptcy and no unified fervor about the need to pull together to rebuild the company". Mr Inamori also noted that the carrier was "able to transform into a company with high profitability during the April-September period". JAL is expected to register a record operating profit during the fiscal first-half. Mr Inamori added that he hopes to "convince" creditor banks to lend the carrier a further USD615 million as it restructures out of bankruptcy. However he conceded that lenders would not be overly keen about a further injection, following a JPY521.5 billion debt waiver to the carrier.