Tag Archives: Narita

Air Canada to deploy the Boeing 787 on the Vancouver-Tokyo Narita route

Air Canada (Montreal) will start a second Boeing 787 daily route from Vancouver to Tokyo (Narita) on December 15 per Airline Route. The 787 will replace a 767 on the route.

Air Canada:

JAL to introduce domestic Wi-Fi service on July 23

JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) will be the first Japanese airline to introduce the in-flight Internet service, called “JAL SKY Wi-Fi” on domestic routes. This new service will be on board its revamped “JAL SKY NEXT” aircraft, operated between Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka (Itami), Fukuoka as well as Hakodate from July 23, 2014.

Under the theme of “A standard that’s a step ahead”, in addition to the introduction of new cabin interiors, the new in-flight Internet service will support onboard passengers to have seamless connectivity with the ground. JAL SKY Wi-Fi will be progressively expanded to 77 domestic aircraft including JAL’s Boeing 777s, 767s and 737s through FY2016.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-346 ER JA613J (msn 33849) arrives at the Tokyo (Narita) hub.

JAL-Japan Airlines:

Air China is gradually phasing out the Boeing 747-400

Air China (Beijing) is gradually phasing out its aging Boeing 747-400 fleet. The Jumbo is being replaced with newer Boeing 777-300ERs. The fleet is now down to four aircraft. The flag carrier is ending domestic Boeing 747-400 scheduled flights on June 30 according to Airline Route. The last domestic route is the Beijing – Shanghai (Hongqiao).

The carrier will continue to fly the type until October 25 on the following routes:

Beijing – Hong Kong
Beijing – Tokyo (Narita)
Shanghai (Pudong) – Tokyo (Narita)

The Jumbo, subject to change, is expected to then exit the fleet.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-4J6 B-2460 (msn 24348) arrives at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT).

Air China:

Garuda Indonesia restores the Jakarta-Tokyo Haneda route

Garuda Indonesia (Jakarta) on June 15, 2014 officially restored the Jakarta – Tokyo (Haneda) route to meet market demand and broaden its flight network.

For Garuda Indonesia, the occasion signifies an important moment in history as its echoes the airline’s first flight from Indonesia to Japan on March 13, 1962 which departed from the old Kemayoran Airport in Jakarta for Haneda Airport in Tokyo via Hong Kong, using a Lockheed 188 Electra.

The Jakarta – Haneda daily flight schedule departs from Jakarta at 13.05 (Local Time) and arrives in Haneda at 22.35 (Local Time). On the return flight, GA 875 departs from Haneda at 00.30 (Local Time) and arrives in Jakarta at 06.00 WIB. To serve the restored Jakarta-Haneda service, Garuda Indonesia operates the Airbus A330-300 on the route that features a two class layout; business class with a seat capacity of 36 passengers and economy class for 215 passengers.

With the opening of the Jakarta – Haneda direct service, Garuda Indonesia currently serves 39 weekly flights to Japan, including the Jakarta – Osaka (Kansai), Denpasar – Osaka (Kansai), Jakarta – Tokyo (Narita), Denpasar – Tokyo (Narita), Denpasar – Tokyo (Haneda), and Jakarta – Tokyo (Haneda).

Through the codeshare agreement with ANA-All Nippon Airways, Garuda Indonesia passengers will be able to fly with ANA to various large cities in Japan, such as Fukuoka, Saporro and Okinawa.

In addition, the opening of the Jakarta – Haneda service will offer Garuda Indonesia passengers the choice to continue their journey to Los Angeles and Seattle/Tacoma with Garuda Indonesia and Delta Airlines codesharing flights.

The launching of the Jakarta – Haneda direct service is part of the airline’s “network” expansion program, especially in the international sector, following Garuda Indonesia’s official entry into the “SkyTeam” global alliance.

As a SkyTeam member, Garuda Indonesia can now expand its service network to 1,064 destination cities in 178 countries that are served by SkyTeam member airlines, which constitutes more than 90% of the world’s air traffic, with up to 15 thousand flights per day.

In line with Garuda Indonesia’s continuous expansion through the airline’s “Quantum Leap 2011-2015” long-term program, in 2014, Garuda Indonesia plans to purchase as many as 27 new airplanes, consisting of two Boeing 777-300s, four Airbus A330s, twelve Boeing 737-800s, three Bombardier CRJs, and six ATR 72-600s.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-341 PK-GPD (msn 144) taxies across the tarmac at Tokyo’s Narita International Aport (NRT) in the special Liverpool Football Club “You’ll Never Walk Alone” color scheme.

Garuda Indonesia:

Asian Air commences charter flights to Japan, will introduce a “Mirai Suenaga” logo jet in June

Asian Air (Bangkok) is a new airline charter airline which commenced operations in March. The company is now operating Boeing 767-200s between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport (DMK) and Tokyo (Narita) (NRT). The flights started on March 15. The airline is expected to add flights soon to Sapporo (New Chitose) and Osaka (Kansai) with a second Boeing 767.

In addition, charter flights to Thailand’s neighboring countries will also be operated according to the company.

Top Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Asian Air). Boeing 767-2J6 ER HS-DCM (msn 23307) was painted in Miami and was formally delivered to the company on January 8, 2014. HS-DCM is pictured lining up on runway 16R at Tokyo (Narita) as flight DM 465 bound for DMK.

Asian Air has announced a partnership with “Mirai Suenaga”, the famous cartoon series on Japanese TV. A Boeing 767 in June will have these cartoon images of Mirai Suenaga applied to the fuselage.

Scoot to receive its first Boeing 787 in November

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and Scoot (Singapore) have announced a five-year pilot training agreement to support the airline’s fleet transition to 787-9 Dreamliners.

Under the agreement, Boeing Flight Services, a business unit of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, will provide 787 flight training to Scoot pilots at Boeing’s Singapore training campus. In 2014 alone, an anticipated 32 Scoot pilots will undergo training.

The 2013 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, a respected industry forecast of personnel demand, projects a requirement for 498,000 new commercial airline pilots and 556,000 new maintenance technicians to fly and maintain the new airplanes entering the world fleet over the next 20 years. In Southeast Asia, 51,500 pilots and 64,700 technicians are needed to fill the gap.

Scoot will acquire 20 Boeing 787-9s beginning in November 2014. A second 787 is due ar the end of February 2015. The airplanes were originally ordered by parent company Singapore Airlines. Scoot currently operates Boeing 777-200s on medium and long haul low-cost flights between Singapore and Sydney, Gold Coast, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Tianjin, Shenyang, Nanjing, Qingdao, Seoul, Perth and Hong Kong.

Scoot is expected to introduce the new type in December on its routes.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Eventually Scoot will become an all 787 operator (following Norwegian Long Haul) and the pictured Boeing 777-200 ERs will be phased out. Former Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-212 ER 9V-OTA (msn 28507) arrives at Tokyo (Narita).

Scoot:

In the meantime, Scoot is running a contest (now extended) to name the first Boeing 787 (below).

Japan Airlines and Korean Air to expand their codeshare agreement

JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) and Korean Air (Seoul), both codeshare partners since 2004, have agreed to further expand their codeshare flights on all routes and flights operated by Korean Air between Japan and South Korea from April 22, 2014.

Flight Number	Route	Dep. Time (Local time)	Arr. Time (Local time)	Days of Operation
JL5253 / KE768	Aomori – Seoul (Incheon)	13:25	16:00	Wed. Fri. Sun.
JL5252 / KE767	Seoul (Incheon) – Aomori	10:10	12:30	Wed. Fri. Sun.
JL5255 / KE770	Akita – Seoul (Incheon)	13:50	16:20	Mon. Thu. Sat.
JL5254 / KE769	Seoul (Incheon)-Akita	10:30	12:45	Mon. Thu. Sat.
JL5257 / KE720	Haneda – Seoul (Incheon)	06:25	08:50	Daily
JL5256 / KE719	Seoul (Incheon) – Haneda	20:55	23:05	Daily

JL5259 / KE792	Oita – Seoul (Incheon)	15:45	17:20	Fri.
JL5259 / KE792	Oita – Seoul (Incheon)	18:55	20:30	Sun.
JL5258 / KE791	Seoul (Incheon) – Oita	13:10	14:45	Fri.
JL5258 / KE791	Seoul (Incheon) – Oita	16:20	17:55	Sun.
JL5261 / KE748	Okayama – Seoul (Incheon)	10:00	11:35	Daily
JL5260 / KE747	Seoul (Incheon) – Okayama	18:40	20:10	Daily
JL5265 / KE784	Fukuoka – Busan	11:05	12:00	Daily
JL5267 / KE798	Fukuoka – Busan	19:45	20:40	Daily
JL5264 / KE783	Busan – Fukuoka	09:15	10:05	Daily
JL5266 / KE797	Busan – Fukuoka	17:55	18:45	Daily
JL5263 / KE772 (*2)	Sapporo (Chitose) – Busan	12:35	15:15	Tue. Thu. Sat.
JL5262 / KE771 (*2)	Busan – Sapporo (Chitose)	09:15	11:35	Tue. Thu. Sat.
JL5269 / KE756	Nagoya – Jeju	11:55	13:50	Wed. Fri. Sun.
JL5268 / KE755	Jeju – Nagoya	15:00	16:45	Wed. Fri. Sun.

Note:
*1. All of the above flights are operated by KE.
*2. Sapporo = Busan route will start from April 26, 2014.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. JAL’s Boeing 737-846 JA312J (msn 35341) in the old 2002 livery arrives at Tokyo (Narita).

JAL-Japan Airlines:

Korean Air:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-9B5 HL7706 (msn 29991) also arrives at Tokyo (Narita).

Delta and Virgin Atlantic launch Seattle/Tacoma-London Heathrow flights

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) continued its rapid expansion in Seattle/Tacoma with the launch of new daily nonstop service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London Heathrow Airport on Saturday, March 29. The route, established as part of Delta’s joint venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways (London).

Through its trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia, Delta offers Seattle-area travelers nonstop service to Paris and Amsterdam while also providing connecting service to more than 150 additional destinations beyond those European hubs.

This spring Delta will also begin expanded Seattle/Tacoma service from Anchorage; Fairbanks, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose, California; and Vancouver to support its growing international gateway that currently serves London Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris-Charles de Gaulle as well as Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo-Narita, and Tokyo-Haneda.

In June, Delta will begin new international service from Seattle/Tacoma to Seoul and Hong Kong, bringing Delta’s total nonstop transoceanic destinations to nine, as many as all other SeaTac international carriers combined.

By this summer, Delta will offer more than 2,500 daily international seats as part of its 79 peak-day departures to 25 destinations.

Delta currently operates 35 peak-day departures to 15 destinations from Seattle/Tacoma.

Delta Air Lines (current):

ANA will order 70 Airbus and Boeing aircraft including the new 777-9X

ANA Holdings (ANA-All Nippon Airways) (Tokyo) plans to place an order for 20 new Boeing 777-9X aircraft (below) as well as 14 additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The Japanese carrier also ordered six additional Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft (above). ANA also ordered 30 additional Airbus A320 (below bottom) and A321neo aircraft.

This order restores the momentum for the new Boeing 777X project as Japan Airlines had previously defected from Boeing to Airbus with an order for 31 Airbus A50s.

ANA Holdings issued this statement:

ANA Holdings is to place firm orders for 70 new aircraft worth ¥1700 billion at list prices with Boeing and Airbus. The order, approved at a meeting today (March 27) of the Board of Directors of ANA HD, is the biggest in the airline’s history and will support ANA’s drive to become one of the world’s leading airline groups.

The aircraft will be delivered during period of FY 2016-2027 and will increase the size of the ANA fleet to 250 aircraft.

ANA HD has decided to purchase twenty Boing 777-9X, a large twin-aisle aircraft with 15% larger seating capacity, as a successor to its existing fleet of Boeing 777-300 ERs. In addition, ANA HD will purchase six further Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft to support the expansion of its international services until delivery of Boeing 777-9X.

ANA HD will also place fourteen additional orders for the medium-sized Boeing 787-9 aircraft. This will take its total fleet of Dreamliners to 80, confirming ANA as the world’s biggest operator of this fuel-efficient airliner.

The order with Airbus consists of 30 smaller single-aisle jets from the A320 family – seven A320neo aircraft and twenty-three A321neo aircraft, which will replace ANA’s existing Boeing 737-500 and Airbus A320ceo aircraft.

The new Boeing aircraft will be used predominantly on international routes while the new Airbus aircraft will be introduced both on domestic routes and international routes.

ANA Group’s introduction of these new aircraft will help it respond to the needs of the increasing number of passengers expected to arrive in Japan in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will support the Japanese government’s plans to boost the annual total of foreign visitors to Japan to 20 million.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-381 ER JA783A (msn 27940) approaches the runway at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT).

ANA:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus did not win a new Japanese customer for the new A350 but got a consolation order for more Airbus A320s which will become the predominate domestic aircraft for the ANA Group (over the Boeing 737NG). Airbus A320-211 JA8946 (msn 669) with additional “Inspiration of Japan” markings also arrives at Narita International Airport.

Delta launches international Wi-Fi service on its Boeing 747-400s

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will launch international Wi-Fi service on flights 283 and 295 equipped with Ku-band satellite Wi-Fi on Boeing 747-400 aircraft departing Los Angeles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Narita International Airport in Tokyo. For more than five years, Delta has provided Wi-Fi to customers traveling on its mainline aircraft flying within the United States.

Delta has three of 16 Boeing 747-400 aircraft complete which also operate between Detroit and Seoul-Incheon; Detroit and Nagoya, Japan; Detroit and Tokyo-Narita; New York-JFK and Tel Aviv as well as New York-JFK and Tokyo-Narita.

Customers can access Wi-Fi service with introductory pricing options that begin with one hour passes for laptop users as low as $14.00 and $8.00 for mobile users or a flight pass option, which will keep customers connected throughout their flight, starting at $24.95 for laptop users and $14.95 for mobile users. All of Delta’s 747-400 aircraft will have Wi-Fi installed by mid-2014.

Delta will complete the installation of Wi-Fi service on its entire international fleet by the end of 2015 including its Boeing 777, 767, 747, Airbus A330 and trans-oceanic Boeing 757 aircraft operating on international, long-haul routes. Delta and Gogo are in the final testing phase for Wi-Fi on the Airbus A330 fleet. The addition of in-flight Internet for more than 150 aircraft will expand the number of worldwide aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi to approximately 1,000 jets including all two-class regional, domestic and international aircraft.

The new international service uses satellites for global connectivity to offer coverage internationally and will compliment Delta’s existing air-to-ground service already provided by Gogo for aircraft flying within the domestic U.S.

Delta operates the world’s largest Wi-Fi-equipped fleet of aircraft with more than 3,400 flights daily, including its entire fleet of 570 domestic mainline aircraft. More than 870 Delta aircraft, including all Delta Connection two-class regional jets, are equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi service offering more than 400,000 customers per day access to the Internet above 10,000 feet.

Delta Air Lines: