Japan Airlines files for Bankruptcy

Today, Japan Airlines (Asia's biggest airline) filed for bankruptcy protection due to debts totaling more than $25 billion and years of mismanagement.  JAL's planes will keep flying however, thanks to a 600 billion Yen government bailout.  Much like the struggling car companies over here in the U.S., JAL will receive financial support from the Japanese government (a portion of the money will be provided courtesy of Japanese taxpayers, of course), along with cutting as much as a third of JAL's current workforce and slashing 1/5 of its international routes.  Looking to establish a foothold into Japan's highly lucrative but rigid aviation sector, Delta and American Airlines have offered equity and investments to the once-mighty carrier.  It'll be interesting to see what becomes of JAL once the complexities of the bankruptcy filing have been sorted out (JAL/Delta or JAL/American partnership, perhaps?).

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