Summary
- Japan Airlines has announced changes to its executive team, with Mitsuko Tottori becoming the brand new President, the airline’s first female president because the carrier’s inception.
- Tottori joined the corporate as a cabin crew member in 1985 and has since climbed the ranks, holding various management positions.
- The airline’s safety culture played a vital role within the successful evacuation of a burning A350-900, highlighting the importance of emergency training and communication.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that it is going to be making changes to its executive team, promoting the present board member of the corporate and senior managing Executive Officer, Mitsuko Tottori, to change into the President of JAL. Meanwhile, the present President of the airline, Yuji Akasaka, will change into the brand new Chairperson, replacing Yoshiharu Ueki, who will retire as a Chairperson. Ueki will proceed serving as a director of the airline’s board from April 1, 2024.
Starting as a cabin crew
Japan Airlines said that the changes were made following a board of directors meeting on January 17, 2024. Tottori and Akasaka will only move to their recent positions if the shareholders and board of directors approve the change, with each executives assuming their recent roles in June 2024. The airline’s General Meeting of Shareholders typically occurs in mid-to-late June.
Nevertheless, the airline is planning further changes to its C-suite, saying that the announcement of the changes to the chief officers’ positions, which should come into effect from April 1, 2024, will probably be announced at a later date.
Based on Tottori’s biography, which the airline shared in its statement, she joined the corporate in April 1985 as a flight attendant. She moved right into a management position in October 2005, becoming the Manager of the first Cabin Attendant Department. Her next promotion got here in May 2013, when she assumed the Senior Manager of the Cabin Safety Department position before becoming the Senior Director of the 2nd Office Cabin Crew Affairs of the Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) 1st Cabin Attendant Department two years later.
Photo: viper-zero | Shutterstock
A mere 12 months later, Tottori became the Vice President of the NRT 2nd Cabin Attendant Department, moving to Vice President of the Cabin Safety Department in April 2019. A 12 months later, the chief assumed her role as an Executive Officer and Senior Vice President of Cabin Attendants at Japan Airlines.
In April 2022, her biography filled up with the Managing Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, and Cabin Attendants Senior Managing Executive Officer positions before she became the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, accountable for Brand Communication, and the representative director and Senior Managing Executive Officer at JAL a 12 months later. Lastly, she became the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Chief Customer Officer at Japan Airlines in June 2023, before her promotion to the airline’s president. Tottori still holds those two positions to at the present time.
Japan Airlines First A350-1000 Departs Toulouse For Tokyo
Japan Airlines’ first Airbus A350-1000 has departed for Tokyo, with the aircraft set to enter service in early 2024.
Safety culture
The airline has made changes to its executive leadership at a difficult time, with the crash of the Japan Airlines A350-900, registered as JA13XJ, at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) putting the carrier within the highlight. Then, the airline’s A350-900 collided with a Japanese Coast Guard DHC-8-300, killing five crew members out of six that were onboard the latter aircraft. Based on preliminary reports by the local investigators, the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft was not cleared to taxi onto the runway, leading to the collision.
Nevertheless, all crew members and passengers safely evacuated the burning A350-900, and the airline’s safety culture heavily contributed to that. This includes special training for cabin crew in emergency situations, which emphasizes short and precise communication during incidents.
Photo: JAL
Japan Airlines overhauled its safety culture following the crash of Japan Airlines flight JAL 123, which claimed the lives of 520 people when a Boeing 747 crashed in Japan in 1985. Pledging that such an accident would never occur again, the carrier made significant efforts to be sure that, including the opening of a ‘Safety Promotion Center’, a training facility for its employees
Miracle Or Just Excellent Training: How Japan Airlines Cabin Crew Saved A whole bunch Of Lives
Numerous aspects ensured the evacuation was a hit.