Tag Archives: Tokyo

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:

ANA is coming to Houston

ANA (All Nippon Airways) (Tokyo) has announced it will launch a new route from Tokyo (Narita) to Houston (Bush Intercontinental) starting on June 12, 2015 with Boeing 777-300 ERs.

ANA will also increase the number of flights from Tokyo to Singapore and Bangkok by introducing twice daily services from Narita to these two cities in addition to the existing double daily service from Haneda Airport. Flights from Singapore and Bangkok arriving in Narita early morning will increase the number of North American cities that can be connected and will, together with the evening flight, greatly increase the convenience of Asia-North America connections at Narita.

Houston will be ANA’s tenth destination in North America.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-381 ER JA786A (msn 37948) with the special “Forward as one Japan” markings arrives at Narita International Airport near Tokyo.

ANA aircraft slide show:

JAL to launch “JAL Sky Suite 787” service to Frankfurt on December 1

Japan Airlines (JAL) (Tokyo) will launch the first “JAL Sky Suite 787” service between Tokyo (Narita) and Frankfurt on December 1, 2014.

JAL will introduce fully-flat seat (above), “JAL Sky Suite”, in Business Class of “JAL Sky Suite 787”. Premium Economy service will be provided onto the latest Boeing 787-8s with “JAL Sky Premium” seats, and in Economy Class, new “JAL Sky Wider II” seats in a 2-4-2 configuration will be offered.

Following its launch on Narita – Frankfurt route, “JAL Sky Suite 787” will be sequentially operated on Tokyo (Narita) – New York route (JL004/JL003) from January 2015.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner JA826J (msn 34836) arrives at the Narita International Airport (NRT) hub.

JAL aircraft slide show:

Peach to add the Okinawa-Hong Kong route on February 21, 2015

Peach Aviation (Osaka-Kansai) has announced it will launch the Okinawa-Hong kong route on February 21 with four weekly flights.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 JA807P (msn 5440) completes its final approach to the runway at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.

Peach aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-2/Airlines-Asia2-FP/Peach-Aviation

Peach Route Route Map:

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:

Cebu Pacific Air to launch the Cebu-Tokyo Narita route on March 26, 2015

Cebu Pacific Air (Manila) plans to strengthen its Cebu hub with direct Cebu-Tokyo (Narita) flights starting March 26, 2015.

The airline will launch four weekly flights (every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) between Cebu and Tokyo. The flight from Cebu will depart at 5:55 am (0555), and arrive in Tokyo at 11:20 am (1120). The return flight will depart Tokyo at 12:05 pm (1205), and arrive in Cebu at 4:25 pm (1625).

The new route will utilize Airbus A320s.

Cebu Pacific Air launched nonstop flights from Manila to Tokyo (Narita) and Nagoya in March of this year.

Aside from Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, Cebu Pacific Air offers flights to 25 other international destinations, namely Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Dammam, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon (Seoul), Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Macau, Phuket, Riyadh, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Xiamen. It also operates the most extensive network in the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific Air’s 51-strong fleet is comprised of 10 Airbus A319, 28 Airbus A320, 5 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR 72 500 aircraft. Between 2014 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 11 more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 1 Airbus A330 aircraft.

Current routes from Cebu:

Cebu Pacific Air Slide Show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-1/Airlines-Asia1-AE/Cebu-Pacific-Air

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

American Airlines and Jetstar Japan announce a codeshare agreement

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) customers will have greater access to domestic Japanese destinations starting on October 22, 2014, thanks to a new codeshare agreement between American and Jetstar Japan (Tokyo-Narita).

Under the new arrangement, American Airlines will place its ‘AA’ code on services operated by Jetstar Japan between Tokyo Narita International Airport and Fukuoka, Matsuyama, Okinawa (Naha), Osaka (Kansai) and Sapporo (Shin Chitose), with first flights under the codeshare starting on October 26, 2014.

Jetstar Japan is a partnership between the QANTAS Group, Japan Airlines, Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation. It operates 18 Airbus A320 aircraft across 10 destinations in Japan.

Top Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. American’s Boeing 777-223 ER N776AN (msn 29582) slips into the clouds over the London area after departing from Heathrow Airport.

American Airlines (current livery):

Jetstar Japan:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Jetstar Japan’s Airbus A320-232 JA15JJ (msn 5701) arrives at the Tokyo (Narita) base.