Japan Airlines, Kalitta Air enter freighter codeshare agreement 

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced the beginning of a freighter codeshare agreement with Kalitta Air. Under the agreement, Kalitta Air will operate three codeshare flights per week between Narita Airport (NRT) and Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) using 747-400F aircraft beginning today.  

While JAL has chartered freighter flights based on seasonal demand in recent years, this new codeshare agreement with Kalitta Air establishes scheduled freighter service between Asia and North America for JAL. 

Flights from ORD to NRT are scheduled for Wednesdays at 00:50, Thursdays at 13:50 and Saturdays at 13:40, local time. The flights originating at NRT and ending at ORD are scheduled for Thursdays at 9:00, Saturdays at 8:00 and Sundays at 20:45, local time. Each flight will make a technical landing at Anchorage Airport (ANC) along the flight path. 

JAL reported that cargo traffic, excluding mail, for the second quarter of 2019, ended June 30, 2019, was down 2.1% year-over-year to 671 million revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs). Ultimately, cargo and mail revenue for the period was down 6.1% y-o-y.