JAL moves out from under Tokyo's influence

[TOKYO] When Japan Airlines Co broke with decades of tradition by buying long-haul jets from Europe's Airbus rather than US rival Boeing Co, it informed the Japanese government by e-mail without any prior warning.

The deal, worth US$9.5 billion at list prices, was a major blow for Boeing, which holds more than 80 per cent of Japan's commercial aviation market and has been intertwined with US-Japan diplomatic relations since shortly after World War II.

But the way JAL communicated the decision - with a curt message delivered to officials' inboxes just as it was publicly announcing the deal, according to Japanese government sources - was just as momentous.