Other critics worry that JAL has not addressed the structural problems that led to the government bailout, making it unable to stand on its own in the increasingly cutthroat global airline industry.
Encouraged by a record annual profit of 204.9 billion yen, for example, the airline has said it will bring back summer bonuses — a reminder, to some, of its once notoriously profligate ways.
To compete with JAL, All Nippon plans to raise as much as ¥211 billion ($2.6 billion) by selling a billion new shares, partly to buy new planes, the airline said in a statement Tuesday. Shares in All Nippon plunged almost 14 percent on the news. The number of outstanding shares would increase by 40 percent, greatly diluting each existing share’s value.
Tellingly, critics say, Japan Airlines itself predicts lower profits in the next two years.
“We need to know JAL can stand up to more competition, not less,” said Toshiaki Koizumi, director of the ruling Democratic Party’s committee on transport. “At this rate, even ANA will start to founder. JAL is going to relist, but how long will it last?”
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