Air Transport Rating Agency released its airlines safety rating today and rates Japan Airlines (JAL) as the safest in Asia. And JAL is the only one that makes it to the top 10 in Asia! The rating is based on 15 criteria including accident figures, average age of the aircraft used and the homogeneity of the fleet. Honestly some of the criteria is a bit odd and they are giving 2011 rating based on 2009 data!? But a win is a win :p Congrats on JAL on job well done in keeping flight safety as their top priority :D

For the complete top 10 rating, you can visit ATRA website.

The largest Japanese aircraft seats manufacturer Koito, who faked test data of its seats, said 3 executives will step down and its president will take a 30% pay cut for 6 months. They have submitted their plan to MLIT and intends to complete the first phase of safety check by end of May.

American Eagle (AE) is the commuter unit of American Airlines, who is Japan Airlines' partner in the US. This is the second fine within weeks the FAA has proposed against AE due to maintenance mishaps. I know I have said this before, but have you really picked the right partner, JAL?

Different media, including The Wall Street Journal, are now reporting that Japan Airlines has picked American Airlines over Delta. Mainly because of the costs and risks involved in switching alliance. And the new CEO Dr. Inamori had a friendly chat with his buddy at Washington regarding ATI approval on JAL and DL tie up. After that he has made up his mind. Supposing there will be a JAL press conference later today announcing their decision. While you guys are still cheering or mourning for the rumored alliance decision, here is something from The Wall Street Journal to read about: Agencies to Fault American on Maintenance. After reading this, I can't help but question whether JAL has picked the right US partner.

(Update: added one more paragraph regarding european ban on Koito seats)

For those of you who have been keeping track of news on the "Dark Side", you should know ANA has postponed the introduction of their new 777-300ER cabins (good news for JAL). The reason behind this is safety issues of the premium economy seats manufactured by Koito Industries, whose parent company is 20% owned by Toyota. And as expected JAL is also a client of this Japanese seats manufacturer and is affected by this safety recall.