Qatar Airways will officially join oneworld on October 20 2013. Image by Qatar Airways

As reported earlier, Qatar Airways (QR) will be joining oneworld on October 30 2013. oneworld will once again run an alliance wide double mileage campaign to celebrate the addition of Qatar to the alliance.

JAL will revamp its domestic fleet with LED cabin lighting that changes based on season and time of day. Picture shown above is the design for spring. Image by Japan Airlines.

[Updated with Domestic First Class layout, breakdown of the retrofitted fleet, and wi-fi rollout schedule]

Japan Airlines (JAL) has just announced it will expand its JAL NEW SKY PROJECT, which aims to provide a one-class above the current standard on its flights, to its domestic fleet. Currently, JAL plans to retrofit 77 of its planes which includes 777-200, 777-300, 767-300, 767-300ER, and 737-800 with the new interior based on the theme of "Superior Cabin". Domestic First Class service will be added to part of the 767-300ER fleet as well! The first rollout is planned for May 2014. Other than the cabin interior, JAL will also introduce its JAL SKY Wi-Fi service to these retrofitted planes as well.

JAL will add Qatar Airways as JAL Mileage Bank partner on October 30 2013. Image by Aero Icarus.

As Qatar Airways (QR) is set to officially join oneworld on October 30 2013, JAL will inaugurate a frequent flyer program partnership with Qatar Airways on the same day as well. This means JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members will soon be able to earn redeemable miles and FLY ON Points on eligible Qatar Airways' flights when they travel with eligible fares. Also, they will be able to redeem award tickets on QR coded flights operated by Qatar Airways as well.

JAL once again is running a CX bonus miles campaign this year. Image by Japan Airlines.

In the past two years, Japan Airlines (JAL) has been running a bonus miles campaign on select flights operated by Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) around this time. And this year is no exception. This year's campaign will run from October 15 till December 15 2013, which is slightly shorter than last year's campaign. AL Mileage Bank (JMB) members in the Japan region who register for this campaign prior to their flights will once again earn up to 3,000 miles per flight on select routes.

Earn up to 15,000 bonus miles when sign up for JAL USA CARD. Image by Japan Airlines.

The 15,000 miles sign up bonus is back! For a limited time, you can earn up to 15,000 JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) miles when you sign up for JAL USA CARD and fly on eligible JAL international flights.

JAL will launch JAL SKY SUITE 767 on December 9 2013. Image by Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has finally announced the launch date of the new long-haul Boeing 767-300ER cabin dubbed JAL SKY SUITE 767 (SS6). As reported before, JAL will launch SS6 on December 9 2013. Initially it will be deployed on the Tokyo Narita - Vancouver route and will be progressively expanded to the Tokyo Narita - Kuala Lumpur route in January and other long-distance routes in Southeast Asia and Honolulu routes in fiscal year 2014.

JAL announces its first ever Airbus order today. Image by Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has finally announced its first Airbus order today. Up until now, JAL has never ordered a single plane from Airbus and has exclusively ordered from Boeing for its mainline fleet.

The order announced today at the joint press conference with Airbus CEO consists of a total of 31 Airbus 350 XWBs. 18 of these are for the smaller A350-900 model with capacity of around 300 passengers in a typical 3-class configuration. The remaining 13 are for the bigger A350-1000 model which can carry 350 passengers in a typical 3-class configuration for up to 8,400 nm. JAL also has an option for an additional 25 planes.

JAL adds Jetstar Japan as JAL Mileage Bank partner. Image by ken H.

Today, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced the allocation of 31 out of the 40 new day-time slot pairs to be added from fiscal year 2014. The allocation heavily favors All Nippon Airways (ANA) which was awarded 11 out of the 16 slot pairs available to Japanese carriers while Japan Airlines (JAL) was only awarded 5 new slot pairs.

JAL VISIT TOKOKU! special livery. Image by Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has been running the Tohoku Support Project - "VISIT TOHOKU!" since June 1 2013 to help supporting the area affected by the Tohoku earthquake. Recent initiatives include discounted domestic tickets for foreign visitors to visit Tohoku region and international charter flights to Tohoku. The latest project is to create a special livery to fly all over Japan to promote the VISIT TOHOKU! project awareness. And you get be part of this special livery by contributing your Facebook profile pictures! Also through that, you will be helping to plant some sakura trees in Onagawa, Miyagi too!