This week: Spirit orders up to 150 Airbus A320neos; Qantas and Virgin secure one Haneda slot each; Aeroflot to open Krasnoyarsk hub; Etihad and Saudia extend codeshare partnership and more.
Twelve new daytime slots for US-Tokyo Haneda flights have been tentatively awarded to four US carriers. It is hoped the proposed new routes and services will begin in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The top three US carriers by passenger numbers are vying for new slots at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
Beijing Capital International Airport has become the first Chinese airport - and the second in the world - to reach the 100 million passenger milestone. However, the airport still remains the second busiest on earth after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International continued to grow. Routesonline today reveals the top ten airports based on passenger numbers in 2018.
Airports in China and India accounted for ten of the top 20 fastest-growing major airports in the world during the first-half of the year, highlighting the growing dominance of the countries as aviation powerhouses. Research by Routesonline has also ranked the leading airports by total passengers added during the period, with the US featuring strongly.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the world’s busiest airport, according to preliminary traffic figures, but Beijing Capital is closing the gap. The statistics - which reveal the top 20 airports by passenger numbers - also show there is no stopping China’s rapid growth, with 12 new airports beginning commercial air service during 2017.
The Japanese airline will become the first low-cost carrier in Japan to operate A320neo aircraft. The order, worth $1.4 billion, was announced at a signing ceremony in Tokyo attended by the carrier’s managing director and CEO alongside the Airbus president and CEO.
The major American carrier has announced it will cancel service at Tokyo-Narita from New York-JFK, and to Osaka and Bangkok in autumn. The decision comes a few weeks after Delta has been tentatively awarded daytime service to Tokyo-Haneda.
A new fifth daytime slot pair for scheduled service to and from Haneda International Airport in Tokyo has been preliminary awarded to Delta Air Lines for flights from Minneapolis-St Paul, ahead of another Delta proposition from Atlanta, American Airlines from Dallas and United Airlines from Newark.
The newly available daytime slots at Haneda herald a potential transformation in US air service to the Japanese capital and the regulator wants to start with a blank canvas so it can look at all options and explore opportunities for alternative US cities that are capable of supporting commercially viable service to Tokyo.
Under the current agreement, US airlines have a total of four slot pairs (four arrivals and four departures) for service to and from Haneda, which are now restricted to use during nighttime hours. Under the proposed amendment, these four slot pairs would be transferred to daytime hours. In addition, a fifth daytime slot pair for scheduled service to and from Haneda would be added and US airlines would be able to continue operating one nighttime slot pair.
This latest growth adds to a significant focus on its international activities in 2015. Daily services from Narita and Haneda airports to Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Brussels and Sydney were launched within the last 12 months, in order to meet the growing demand at Narita for international transfers between North America and Asia, and at Haneda for international-domestic connections.
This SuperJumbo commitment is understood to be linked to ANA Holdings’ successful sponsorship of a rescue bid for fellow Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines. The latter had an outstanding commitment for the A380 and Airbus was among its largest creditors with a sizeable voice in deciding a rescue package for the airline.
The daily service will commence from February 11, 2016 and will be flown using a 226-seat Boeing 787-8. American will compete directly with the existing flights of All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Delta in this market but will benefit from operating the route as part of its transpacific joint business with Japan Airlines (JAL).
The Y18 billion ($145 million) plan will see current shareholder Integral Corporation hold a 50.1 per cent stake in the low-cost carrier, with UDS Airlines Investment – a joint venture between SMBC and Development Bank of Japan –holding a 33.4 per cent shareholding and ANA a 16.5 per cent stake.
It is over 16 years since ANA last served the Australian market, but this will be the first time it has linked the country to Tokyo Haneda, where it has a significant network presence and will complement point-to-point demand with connection options to 42 domestic routes, as well as flights to North America, Europe and Asia.
The carrier said in formal correspondence with the DOT that it feels it is “not commercially feasible” to continue operate the slots allocated to Delta for Seattle-Haneda service on a consistent daily basis year-round because of variable year-round demand and a lack of partner operator in the Japanese market at the airport, close to downtown Tokyo.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will become the first Japanese airline to introduce the Boeing 787-9 on international routes, beginning service on its Haneda – Munich route from May 5, 2015.
As per the US-Japan bilateral agreement, US 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, Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu, and United Airlines from San Francisco.
Air New Zealand and All Nippon Airways will both introduce flights with the Boeing 787-9 early next month, with Etihad Airways, Scoot, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways also due to the fly the new stretched variant of the Dreamliner before the end of the year.
