Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Monday that they will join eight other international airlines in establishing a venture to operate an online market to help them procure goods and services.
The new firm, to be named Aeroxchange, will link the airlines and suppliers via the Internet and help conduct trade in a variety of goods and services, including airplane parts. However, the market will not deal in fuel and airplanes.
The 10 starting members include Air Canada, Federal Express, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. Three other airlines will join the group later, JAL and ANA said.
Transactions conducted via e-market will eventually be worth more than $45 billion annually, they predicted.
The new firm will aim to reduce overall costs by simplifying procurement between airlines and suppliers.
It will also attempt to slash inventories and streamline production of the suppliers through the new system, the two airlines said.