Japan Airlines is assessing the prospect of setting up a budget subsidiary, taking advantage of an offer from Oneworld partner Qantas to lend expertise in the area, says an industry official familiar with the restructuring of the bankrupt Japanese carrier. The focus of the study has been Qantas's business model and strategy in creating and operating its Jetstar budget offshoot, the official says, adding that Japan Airlines has set no timeframe in which to create an equivalent subsidiary of its own.

BEIJING — Japan has laid out a proposal to acquire technologies to develop a manned fighter during the next decade for deployment in the 2030s, with an emphasis on counter-stealth capability. As the country prepares to request details of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a possible near-term solution offering little development work, the defense ministry’s proposed “i3 Fighter” would put the country back on its earlier path toward self-reliance.

China Southern will more than double the size of its operation in the home province of rival Hainan Airlines over the coming five years, taking advantage of subsidies offered by the local government. The airline, China’s largest, says it will deploy aircraft worth more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to the island province, aiming to promote it as an international tourism destination.