ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) and JAL - Japan Airlines (JL, Tokyo Haneda) will increase their frequencies between Tokyo Haneda and destinations in Europe and the United States from March 2020, the rival carriers said in separate statements issued on November 19.
Japanese regulators created 50 additional slots for international flights during local daytime hours at the airport due to airspace changes. Half of these have been given to local carriers and half to foreign airlines.
The aim is to lure more visitors from abroad and channel them to an airport that is closer to central Tokyo than Tokyo Narita (14 and 60 kilometres, respectively) and more convenient for domestic connections, it being the primary base for both ANA and JAL.
ANA said it would move routes currently in operation from Narita to Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles International, San José, US, Seattle Tacoma International, and Washington Dulles in the United States as well as Delhi International to Haneda for its summer schedules. It will also operate new routes from Haneda to Istanbul Airport, Milan Malpensa, Moscow Domodedovo, Shenzhen, and Stockholm Arlanda.
JAL will shift US routes to Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, and Los Angeles to Haneda from Narita as well as routes to Moscow Sheremetyevo, Dalian, Delhi, Helsinki Vantaa, and Sydney Kingsford Smith.
Both airlines said that the decreases in the number of frequencies from Tokyo Narita would be temporary. JAL took the opportunity of announcing new routes from Narita to Bengaluru International, Vladivostok, and San Francisco, while new subsidiary ZIPAIR (ZG, Tokyo Narita) will operate its inaugural service between Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi in May 2020 and to Seoul Incheon in July 2020. According to Japan's Jiji news agency, JAL President Yuji Akasaka told a press conference on November 19 that his carrier would continue using Narita as a hub to connect with the United States.
