Over 1,000 cancel JAL reservations amid Senkaku Islands dispute

TOKYO —

More than 1,000 people have canceled Japan Airlines seat reservations for flights between Japan and China in view of strained bilateral ties stemming from the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat on Sept 8 off the Senkaku Islands and subsequent Chinese responses, the JAL chief said Wednesday.

Japan Airlines Corp President Masaru Onishi made the disclosure at a news conference. ‘‘I suppose we will be able to maintain the number of flights’’ on the airline’s Japan-China routes, Onishi said.

But JAL ‘‘may have to consider reducing the number of flights’’ in the event that the drop in demand proves to be prolonged, he said.

Speaking at the same venue, Hideo Seto, trustee of the government-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan that is overseeing the airline’s turnaround, said JAL may give notice to staff if the number of JAL employees applying for the airline’s early retirement program falls short of the target set as part of its court-supervised bankruptcy proceedings.

‘‘We may have to steel ourselves to dismiss employees for consolidation,’’ Seto said.

JAL’s restructuring plan—submitted to the Tokyo District Court on Aug 31—calls for cutting, by next March 31, the combined workforce of member companies in the JAL group by 16,000, or 30% of its total payroll as of the end of March this year.

It appears that only half of the 16,000 are likely to consent to quitting the workforce, JAL sources earlier said.

The JAL management has already briefed its labor unions on its readiness to fire some workers.

JAL Chairman Kazuo Inamori told the same news conference, ‘‘I want them to cooperate (with the restructuring plan) though I find it intolerable’’ to ask them to do so.

JAL’s core airline unit, Japan Airlines International Co, has been soliciting workers’ applications to comply with its voluntary retirement plea from Sept 3 with a view to shedding 1,500 jobs, but has so far met with little success.

Earlier this year, JAL filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court.