Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced a swathe of flight frequency changes and fleet plans for the 2017 financial year, including a new daily Tokyo-New York service due to begin April 1 and the addition of first-class services on a number of routes.
Set to fly between Tokyo Haneda Airport and New York JFK – which New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced is set to undergo a multi-million dollar transformation – the airline’s new route will use a Haneda daytime slot. JL006 departs Haneda at 1040 and arrives in JFK at 1035 local time, while JL005 departs JFK at 1310 and arrives at 1625 the following day. The route is aimed at easing connectivity between Japan domestic flights at the Tokyo airport and will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777-300ER.
Meanwhile, the carrier’s existing Tokyo Narita-New York JFK service is set to see an equipment change and frequency decrease in line with the new Haneda route. The service will drop from a double-daily to a daily offering, while the carrier is set to swap out the route’s existing B787-8 Dreamliner for a four-class B777-300ER. The change will see the introduction of a first class option on the route (eight seats in total), along with increasing overall capacity from 161 to 244 passengers.
Full details of the Tokyo-New York services are as follows (all times local):
Tokyo Haneda-New York JFK
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days |
| JL006 | Tokyo Haneda | New York JFK | 1040 | 1035 | Daily |
| JL005 | New York JFK | Tokyo Haneda | 1310 | 1625+1 |
Tokyo Narita-New York JFK
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days |
| JL004 | Tokyo Narita | New York JFK | 1825 | 1820 | Daily |
| JL003 | New York JFK | Tokyo Narita | 1130 | 1440+1 |
Changes are also expected for JAL’s Russia and Hawaii services. The carrier’s Tokyo Narita-Moscow service is set to go daily between July and October (JAL began serving the Russian capital 50 years ago) – reflecting anticipated growth in demand following Russia’s relaxing of visa requirements from January 2017.
JAL will also increase its Narita-Honolulu service to five flights daily in the high season and its Kansai-Honolulu service to twice daily. The summer season will also see the introduction of first class services on its JL780/789 flights between Narita and Honolulu.
A swathe of equipment changes across the carrier’s international routes from Haned and Narita to China, Finland, Australia, Indonesia, India and Taiwan are also planned for 2017. For full details, see the table below:
Travellers flying domestic can also expect to see a number of changes, in particular the addition of the JAL Sky Next cabin interiors on select routes. Primary among these are Okinawa (Naha) routes with B737-800, which will feature the new cabin interiors.
