JAL SVP route marketing: 'Demand between Japan and Europe has become quite strong' in 2026

Japan Airlines (JAL) senior managing executive officer and SVP route marketing Ross Leggett, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Asia, stated (01-Oct-2026) "We haven't seen any negative impact on our network directly related to oil prices or the [conflict in the] Middle East", beyond JAL's decision to "suspend our Doha route until March of next year, till next summer, which was a very difficult decision, but we just couldn't see the stability that we needed in the next six months". Mr Leggett added: "Having said that, demand between Japan and Europe has become quite strong" in 2026 following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East early in the year, as "there was a big market [for travel between Japan and Europe] via the Middle East that's now looking at direct traffic". He noted: "We increased our frequencies and capacity to Helsinki, and we're upgrading our second [daily] flight to London to also be [operated by] A350-1000" equipment, adding: "So we've actually increased capacity to Europe". [more - CAPA TV]