Posted on: Wednesday, June 20, 2001

One-day walkouts hit two Japanese airlines

Associated Press

TOKYO — Pilots at two of Japan's three major airlines went on one-day strikes yesterday, forcing the cancellation of some flights. A walkout at the third airline was averted.

Pilots at Japan Air System, the country's third largest carrier, walked off the job to demand a summer bonus increase and the airline had to cancel 41 percent of scheduled flights, a company spokesman said.

The 1,302-member flight crew union at Japan Airlines Co., the country's biggest, also began a 24-hour strike, but no scheduled flights were affected after the company used pilots classified as management to replace the striking pilots, said Michiru Iwasa, a union official.

The strike by the 685-member JAS Flight Crew Union grounded 172, or 41 percent, of the airline's scheduled domestic flights yesterday, said airline spokesman Kenichi Ando. That affected about 23,500 passengers, he said.

Ando said those passengers were diverted to flights operated by other airlines.

Pilots at Japan's second-largest carrier, All Nippon Airways, called off a scheduled strike for yesterday.