By XUE Bingbing

Japan Airlines (JAL) is planning to invest several billion yen in Spring Airlines Japan (SAJ) before the end of June, according to Nikkei. JAL already owns 5 percent of the subsidiary of Spring Airlines – the largest low-cost carrier in China –  and is expected to take its share to 51 percent.

While Nikkei said JAC is to make a SAJ a subsidiary, an official from Spring told Jiemian News that its shareholding ratio would not change. SAJ will be jointly operated by JAC and Spring Airlines.

Founded in 2012, SAJ was founded with Spring Airlines holding 33 percent of shares and the rest held by various Japanese investors. Spring Airlines said that according to the Japanese regulations foreign capital in airlines shall not exceed 33 percent. 

SAJ is still yet to turn a profit, and the pandemic certainly made things worse. Last year, Spring Airlines injected 730 million yuan (US$110 million) into SAJ to ease its pressure. According to the earnings preannouncement of Spring Airlines, that investment turned out to be a loss.  

Japanese media outlets said the pandemic has dampened business trips but tourism may bounce back quickly, especially in China. JAC saw the opportunity to invest more in SAJ to control a greater share of the Chinese tourism market in Japan.