A recent report published by ABTN has noted that Japan Airlines (JAL) has decided to withdraw its Heathrow - Osaka service. The present move is coming into effect next spring. Once this service is withdrawn, there will not be any direct connection to the city. In addition to this, the daily service to Kansai offered by Boeing 777 aircraft is to be stopped on 29th March 2009. Once this is done, it will leave the airline with a single service operated between Heathrow and Tokyo.

Most notably, the Heathrow - Osaka flights are one among the three long-haul routes that are to be cut by the carrier. The cut is necessitated by the high oil prices. Notably, this move is part of the biggest operational review made by the airline since the year 2002. On the whole, the carrier is suspending more than 12 routes in addition to considerably decreasing the frequency on four other routes.

Commenting on the present move contemplated by the airline, a spokeswoman for the airline noted that it would offer good connections departing from Tokyo to both Kansai and Itami Airports of Osaka. She too noted that she did not know what the airline has decided to do with the seven daily slots reserved for the airline's carriers at the Heathrow Airport that are left unused due to the present withdrawal of services. The present moves by the airline are part of the carrier's strategy to combat the challenges faced by the airline amidst the present crisis in the industry.