JAL's new CEO says bankrupt airline's executives can't 'run a greengrocery'

Japan Airlines CEO Kazuo Inamori, the iconic Japanese business figure who took the helm of the bankrupt carrier in January, told reporters yesterday that he has been surprised by the lack of business acumen among company executives but vowed to return the carrier to operating profitability as soon as this fall. He candidly expressed his assessment of JAL's corporate office in a Tokyo news conference, according to multiple reports, saying that an "extremely low" number of the airline's executives have business sense. He said he has told them, "You guys wouldn't be able to run a greengrocery with your ideas."

The carrier entered a court-monitored bankruptcy proceeding in January and last month reported a record nine-month net loss of ¥177.9 billion ($1.99 billion) for the first three quarters of its fiscal year ended Dec. 31 (ATWOnline, March 1). Inamori, 78, who was lured out of retirement by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to revive the troubled airline, said yesterday that JAL will "have to proceed with drastic restructuring including cost cutbacks" to survive. He said operating profitably on a monthly basis by this fall is possible. He rejected suggestions that the carrier will shrink its international network significantly, saying, "'I'm fully confident that we can make the international operation profitable. If we can't, there won't be any reason for JAL's existence."