From an hour ago... can we still get a JV with JAL if they go all Chapter 11 Japanese style?

Japan Air Falls on 1.13 Trillion Yen Restructuring Costs Report
January 06, 2010, 07:59 PM EST MORE FROM BUSINESSWEEK

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airlines Corp. fell the most in a week after the Nikkei said it may take a 1.13 trillion yen ($12.2 billion) restructuring charge in the year ending March and seek a court-led bankruptcy.

Asia’s biggest carrier by sales dropped as much as 8.3 percent to 77 yen in Tokyo trading and stood at that price at 9:46 a.m. The government-backed fund restructuring the airline also wants to reduce its financial burden by 730 billion yen through debt waivers and cuts in pension and bond obligations, Nikkei English News said, without citing anyone.

JAL may cut 10,000 positions over three years under the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan’s plan, according to the report. The airline is seeking financing from the state-affiliated fund for restructuring after posting three losses in four years.

“Bankruptcy concerns are escalating,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of $450 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “There are fewer and fewer investors who think the share price won’t drop toward zero.”

The fund intends to ask JAL’s lenders to waive 300 billion yen in loans and offer a debt-for-equity swap for other obligations, the Nikkei said. It may also provide 300 billion yen of capital, the report said.

JAL spokesman Taro Namba and a spokesman for Enterprise Turnaround both declined to comment on the report.