Tag Archives: Haneda

American Airlines files to serve the Los Angeles – Tokyo Haneda route

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has formally submitted an application to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) proposing to operate daily, year-round, nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). Per the U.S.-Japan bilateral agreement, U.S. airlines may only operate a total of four daily round-trip flights at Haneda Airport. Currently that service is provided by Delta Air Lines from Los Angeles and Seattle/Tacoma, Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu, and United Airlines from San Francisco. American’s application seeks to transfer an existing route authority from Seattle/Tacoma, and would provide new service to Haneda from American’s hub in Los Angeles.

In December, the DOT instituted a carrier-selection proceeding to determine whether current service between Seattle/Tacoma and Haneda should be reallocated to another airline. Citing underutilization of a scarce resource, American seeks a reallocation of the Haneda authority. The airline intends to fly it year-round with daily service from Los Angeles. American’s application is in response to the DOT’s decision to consider the best allocation of the slots.

American would provide important consumer and competitive benefits in the Haneda market, by competing head-to-head with other carriers on the Los Angeles-Haneda route and bringing the first-ever oneworld service to the LAX-HND market to compete with other alliances. American’s proposal would also enhance the overall competition for service between the U.S. and Tokyo. Los Angeles is the largest continental U.S. gateway to Tokyo and demand in the Los Angeles-Tokyo market is almost five times larger than Seattle-Tokyo.

American will operate its proposed LAX-HND service with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The airline is retrofitting all 47 of its 777-200s to refresh the cabins and enhance the premium experience on international flights. The retrofitted 777-200 features a Business Class product designed especially for American Airlines customers, with a fully lie-flat seat, direct aisle access and a private flying experience. The plane has a modern interior – including a walk-up bar – with unique lighting, a dramatic archway and a spacious look. It also has Main Cabin Extra and all Main Cabin seats have in-seat entertainment systems.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-223 ER N753AN (msn 30261) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.

American Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Hawaiian files to serve the Kona – Tokyo Haneda market

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin daily, nonstop service this summer between Tokyo International Airport at Haneda (HND) and Kona International Airport (KOA) on Hawai’i Island. The airline’s action was prompted by the U.S. DOT’s decision last month to review the public interest served by Delta Air Lines’ Seattle/Tacoma-Tokyo route after Delta reduced its frequency from daily to seasonal.

In its application, Hawai’i’s flagship carrier urged the U.S. DOT to reallocate Delta’s Haneda frequency based on market data, noting that Hawaiian Airlines’ Honolulu-Tokyo service has been “by far the most, if not only, successful route” of the four Haneda slot pairs granted to U.S. carriers in 2010.

The Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA) estimates that the proposed daily service will generate 531,721 visitor days and $146 million in visitor expenditures. Hawaiian Airlines’ application calculates that service directly to Kona will attract 39,000 additional visitors and result in 1,151 new jobs and $65 million in new direct spending.
The application has the full support of Governor David Ige and Hawai’i Island Mayor Billy Kenoi.

If approved, this would be Hawaiian Airlines’ fifth Japan route and third daily nonstop flight between Japan and Hawai’i, joining daily service to Honolulu from Tokyo and Osaka and thrice-weekly service between Honolulu, Sendai and Sapporo. Hawaiian Airlines anticipates it will begin service on or about June 1, 2015, utilizing its fleet of 20 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The departure and arrival times will vary depending on time of year.

In other news, Hawaiian Airlines announced its system-wide traffic statistics for the full year, fourth quarter and the month of December 2014. The airline set a new annual record in its 85-year history with 10,195,145 passengers transported in 2014, 2.6 percent higher than the previous year.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 N381HA (msn 1114) approaches the runway at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.

Hawaiian Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-UnitedStates-2/Airlines-UnitedStates-2/Hawaiian-Airlines

Dragonair to add Hong Kong-Tokyo Haneda flights

Dragonair (Hong Kong) has announced it will commence a new daily service between Hong Kong and Haneda Airport in Tokyo beginning on March 29, 2015 (subject to government approval), further strengthening the airline’s network in Asia and boosting its presence in Japan. The new service is an addition to the existing 14 flights per week to Haneda offered by sister airline Cathay Pacific Airways, which also operates 35 flights per week to Narita International Airport.

Tokyo will be Dragonair’s third destination in Japan and becomes the 16th destination to have been launched or resumed by the airline since April 2012. Dragonair currently operates daily flights between Hong Kong and Fukuoka and four weekly flights to Okinawa.

The new service to Haneda Airport will be operated by the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration. Dragonair’s premium passengers flying out of Haneda will be able to make use of the brand-new Cathay Pacific lounge at the airport.

Top Copyright Photo: (all others by Dragonair): Yuji Wang/AirlinersGallery.com. Dragonair Airbus A320-232 B-HSM (msn 2238) departs from Shanghai (Pudong).

Dragonair aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-1/Airlines-Asia1-AE/Dragonair

Route Map: Dragonair-Cathay Pacific routes to Mainland China and Northeast Asia:

JAL to introduce a fully revamped Boeing 767-300 ER on December 8

Japan Airlines-JAL (Tokyo) has announced it will introduce fully revamped Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft on its domestic Tokyo (Haneda) – Osaka (Itami) route starting on December 8, 2014. The retrofitted aircraft have also been configured to offer JAL First Class in addition to Class J and Economy Class, which both are fitted with new seats. The aircraft will be configured with five First Class (F) seats, 42 Class J seats and 205 Economy Class sets.

Top Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-346 ER JA656J (msn 40368) departs from Haneda Airport in Tokyo in the special “Doraemon Jet” livery.

JAL aircraft slide show:

New cabin configuration:

United Airlines to launch four new Pacific routes

United Airlines (Chicago) will launch four new Pacific routes, beginning with nonstop service between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia, and between San Francisco and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, on October 26, 2014. Later in the week, the airline will also launch two new routes from its Guam hub – Seoul, South Korea, on October 27 and Shanghai on October 28.

Los Angeles – Melbourne, Australia

The airline will fly the Los Angeles – Melbourne route six times weekly with the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft (above). United is the North American launch customer for the 787-9, and this will be the carrier’s first international deployment of the aircraft type.

United has timed the new Melbourne flights to conveniently connect at Los Angeles with an extensive network of service throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America. United and United Express jointly operate nearly 200 flights daily from Los Angeles to more than 65 destinations. With this new service, United will provide convenient one-stop service to Melbourne from more than 37 U.S. cities.

United started service to Australia in 1979 and today operates more flights to more destinations in Australia than any other U.S. carrier, with daily flights from its San Francisco and Los Angeles hubs to Sydney and Melbourne and twice-weekly service to Cairns from Guam.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The 787 Dreamliner is revolutionizing the flying experience for United customers and crews while delivering unprecedented operating efficiency, comfort and lower emissions.

The 787-9’s extended range – 8,550 miles compared to the 787-8’s 8,200 – enables United to launch the Los Angeles-to-Melbourne service, which will be the longest Dreamliner route in the world to date.

The Boeing 787-9 aircraft operating the new Melbourne route will feature a total of 252 seats – 48 in United BusinessFirst and 204 in United Economy, including 88 Economy Plus seats with added legroom and increased personal space.

San Francisco – Tokyo/Haneda Airport

New daily flights between San Francisco and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport complement United’s existing service between the hub and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. Flights from San Francisco to both Tokyo airports maximize choice and convenience for customers traveling from across the Americas to Tokyo, and to points beyond on United’s joint-venture partner ANA.

The flight schedules enable customers to use convenient public transportation between Haneda Airport and central Tokyo and Yokohama.

United also operates daily service to Tokyo/Narita from its hubs in Chicago (O’Hare), Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark and Washington (Dulles), as well as from Honolulu.

United is the largest carrier at San Francisco International Airport, offering nearly 300 daily flights to more than 90 destinations in the U.S. and around the world, more service than any other airline from the Bay Area. United’s San Francisco hub also offers more nonstop trans-Pacific service than any airline hub in America. The company currently operates nearly 30 daily nonstop flights from San Francisco to more than 20 international destinations.

Guam to Seoul, South Korea and Shanghai

In addition, United will launch two new routes from its Guam hub at A.P. Won Pat International Airport: daily service to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport beginning on October 27, 2014, and twice-weekly service to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, the first nonstop service from Guam to mainland China, beginning on October 28, 2014.

United has served Guam for more than 40 years, with United and United Express currently providing nonstop service from the hub to more than 17 destinations in the Asia/Pacific region.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. The first United Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, N38950 (msn 36401) departs from Los Angeles International Airport.

United Airlines Aircraft Slide Show (current livery):

United’s International Route Map:

United 10.2014 International Route Map

JAL Express is merged into Japan Airlines

JAL Express (Tokyo-Haneda) today (October 1) was merged into its parent JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) as planned. JAL Express operated its last flight yesterday. The JAL Express titles are being removed from the aircraft.

JAL Express started operations on July 1, 1998 as a low-cost subsidiary.

Read the full report from ZipanguFlyer: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo:Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. JAL Express’ Boeing 737-846 WL JA337J (msn 40352) with “Forward Together Japan” inscription arrives at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

JAL Express:

Delta to suspend the Seattle/Tacoma-Tokyo Haneda route for the winter

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will suspend for the winter season the Seattle/Tacoma-Tokyo (Haneda) route on October 1 per Airline Route. The route will be restored on March 29, 2015.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-332 ER N185DN (msn 27961) climbs away from London Heathrow Airport.

Delta Air Lines (current):

JAL to add 15 Embraer E170s and E190s for J-Air

Embraer S.A. has signed a firm order with JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) for a total of 15 E-Jets comprising the E170 and the E190 jets models, as well as for an additional twelve E-Jets family options.

All aircraft will be operated by Japan Airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary, J-Air (Osaka-Itami Airport). This order is added to the existing 15 Embraer E170s that the airline currently flies. New deliveries of E-Jets are scheduled from 2015.

J-Air currently operates 176 daily flights across its network of 21 cities that include Osaka-Itami, Sapporo, Sendai, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Fukuoka.

Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 170-100ST JA218J (msn 17000314) completes its final approach at Tokyo (Haneda) in the old 2002 livery.

JAL-Japan Airlines:

J-Air:

Solaseed Air to retire the last Boeing 737-400 on September 30

Solaseed Air (formerly SNA-Skynet Asia Airways) (Miyazaki) is planning to retire its last Boeing 737-400 on September 30, becoming an all Boeing 737-800 operator according to Airline Route. The 737-400 is currently being operated on the Tokyo (Haneda) to Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Oita routes.

Cathay Pacific to retire the last passenger long-haul Boeing 747-400 on August 31 on the San Francisco route

Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong) will operate its last long-haul scheduled Boeing 747 passenger flight to San Francisco on August 31. The last departure will be from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Hong Kong. The company will continue to operate Boeing 747 freighters and the 747-400 on some short-haul Asian routes (Beijing, Manila, Osaka Kansai, Sapporo, Shanghai Pudong, Taipei Taoyuan and Tokyo Haneda per Airline Route).

To mark the historic occasion, Cathay Pacific is running a “Farewell 747 Giveaway” contest. 20 winners will receive a Boeing 747 model. CLICK HERE for the details.

The inaugural flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong via Vancouver was flown on a Boeing 747-200B on July 1, 1986.

Above Copyright Photo: Cathay Pacific.

Top Copyright Photo: KSK/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-467, the Queen of the Skies, B-HOY (man 25351) in the 1994 livery gracefully climbs away from the runway at Tokyo (Haneda)

Cathay Pacific:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-267B VR-HIE (msn 28872) taxies at Zurich in the original 1971 green and white color scheme.