Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd., a major courier company, announced that it will start operating its own freighter from next year in collaboration with Japan Airlines.
With the tightening limits on overtime for truck drivers, the aim is to secure new means of long-distance transportation.
This was announced by Yamato Holdings and Japan Airlines at an online press conference on the 21st.
According to this, Yamato Holdings will newly introduce three cargo-only aircraft under a lease contract and will start operation again in April next year by entrusting it to Japan Airlines.
The actual operation of the aircraft will be carried out by a group company of Japan Airlines, and there are plans to connect Haneda and Narita with five airports in New Chitose, Naha, and Kitakyushu.
In the transportation industry, the upper limit of overtime work such as truck drivers will be restricted to 960 hours a year from next year, and there is concern that there will be a further shortage of long-distance drivers.
Under these circumstances, Yamato aims to secure a new means of long-distance transportation by having its own freighter.
In addition, Japan Airlines aims to strengthen its profitability by expanding its freight business, as passenger demand cannot be fully expected to recover due to the impact of the new Corona.
Katsuhiko Umezu, executive officer of Yamato Transport Co., Ltd., said, "We want to realize sustainable and robust long-distance transportation by sharing each other's management resources."