Tomoko Ishiyama
3rd Passenger Service Department
JALSKY Tokyo Co., Ltd.
I work at the JAL Smile Support counter at the airport, where we provide services to customers with physical disabilities. We take great care to confirm the level of assistance that customers will need. Although some customers may not be pleased with the extent of our questions, we explain to them that part of securing safety is to prepare and make sure that passengers are not inconvenienced whatever may happen. Finally, something must be written about the passengers themselves. From the safety perspective, the position of the customer as king does not apply. Instead, the customer is a partner in securing safety. The passenger transportation business involves the provision of comfort to customers, while at the same time securing safety through their cooperation as partners in safety.

When passengers are late boarding a flight and cause a delay, or when they use cell phones on board, or do not put their seats up for takeoff and landing, they are inadvertently setting the stage for human error, and helping to create unsafe conditions. Passengers tempted to do these things should think about the following hardships, for example.

Hiromi Tanaka
JAL Reservation Center, Domestic
JAL NAVIA Co., Ltd.
I always get nervous at times when there are a lot of babies traveling. This is because the number of suitable seats and oxygen masks are limited. Informing the flight crew department and the airport staff of the real needs of passengers so that proper preparations can be made ultimately helps reduce confusion and ensure a safer flight. For safety reasons, the number of passengers unable to walk on their own, and their seating positions are strictly regulated on an aircraft. With the increase in telephone and internet reservations, it is becoming more common for JAL to find out about passengers requiring assistance only when they arrive at the airport. Hiromi Tanaka, who manages a JAL call center, explained the situation. “When taking a telephone reservation, I make a point of asking a customer’s age or inquiring if they will need assistance. In this way, I can ensure that the passenger is met by the appropriate personnel at the airport, which in turn reduces confusion and helps ensure a smooth and safe trip for the passenger.” Even departments that may not appear to be related to air safety are also working to keep passengers safe.

In fact, the Safety Charter does not itself appear in the Safety Handbook, a JAL publication for its employees on safety initiatives. Although the Charter is important, individual employees must focus on each initiative for safety, think about all of them, and then apply them to their jobs, going beyond just reading the Charter. These specific measures are the key to building safety. The personal words of employees that arise from repeating the basic safety actions represent the true charter, and this forms the basis for a culture of safety.