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Ex-flight attendant Mitsuko Tottori becomes Japan Airlines’ first woman president
- Tottori, who joined the company in 1985, will take over the reins from Yuji Akasaka in April
- Her appointment comes as the airline deals with repercussions from the fiery collision of its jet with a coastguard plane at Haneda airport earlier this month
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Japan Airlines Co. is appointing Mitsuko Tottori, a former flight attendant and executive in charge of customer experience, as the carrier’s first woman president.
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Tottori, 59, will take the helm in April, as the airline deals with repercussions from the collision of its Flight 516 with a Japan coastguard plane at Tokyo’s Haneda airport earlier this month.
All 379 people aboard JAL’s Airbus jetliner – which was landing at the airport after departing from Sapporo in northern Japan – were able to escape after hitting the smaller plane. The airline’s cabin crew were credited for saving lives, acting decisively to open emergency doors when the intercom system to communicate with the flight deck broke down.
“I have been focusing on safe flight operations as a cabin attendant and will work to keep this in mind from now as well,” Tottori told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo. “I am proud of the crew.”
Tottori, who joined Japan Airlines in 1985, will replace Yuji Akasaka, who will become board chair after the shuffle.
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