Airport News Japan

JAL and ANA Alter Plans for Routes and Flight Volume - Routes Being Reconsidered due to Steep Rises in Fuel Costs

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JAL & ANA on the airport ground

On August 7, JAL announced it is reconsidering its routes due to steeply rising costs for aviation fuel, with twelve domestic and three international routes suspended, and changes to flight volume for nine domestic and four international routes.

Domestic flights to be suspended are those between Kansai and Hakodate, Sendai, Iwate-Hanamaki, Akita, and Fukushima; Osaka (Itami) and Fukushima; Kobe and Kagoshima; Chubu and Fukuoka; and between Naha and Iwate-Hanamaki, Sendai, Fukushima and Kochi. International flights to be suspended are between Fukuoka and Shanghai, Chubu and Pusan, and Kansai and London.

Domestic flights targeted for reduced service are those between Kansai and Sapporo, Fukuoka and Naha, and between Nagoya (Komaki) and Kumamoto. Flights on five domestic routes will be increased between Haneda and Matsuyama and Miyazaki; Narita and Fukuoka; Osaka (Itami) and Niigata; Chubu and Sapporo; and internationally between Narita and Seoul, and between Kansai and Shanghai, Hanoi and Seoul.

On the sixth, ANA likewise announced changes to its transportation business plan. The airline will suspend one domestic route, change flight volume for nine domestic routes, and suspend two international routes in that order starting in October.

Flights to be suspended are those between Nagasaki and Okinawa, Chubu and Taipei, and between Kansai and Guam. Service for flights on eight domestic routes will be reduced between New Chitose and Sendai; Kansai and Memanbetsu, New Chitose, Haneda and Okinawa; Haneda and Oshima; Kagoshima and Okinawa; and between Chubu and Matsuyama. Service between Haneda and Saga will be increased.

Both companies are moving towards downsizing equipment and reduced fuel consumption.

Aviation fuel has soared to about double its cost since one year ago. Both airlines plan to improve profitability by reconsidering unprofitable routes and increasing flights on routes with high boarding rates, as well as making more efficient use of equipment. However, voices of concern are being raised over the effects of large-scale route suspensions and flight reductions on the administration of regional airports and on local economies.