American Airlines has announced it will begin its daily JFK-Haneda services on February 18, making it the first continental US carrier to touch down at Haneda International Airport. The first return flight will depart Tokyo on February 20, 2011.
Note the use of the phrase "first continental US carrier", as strictly speaking Hawaiian Airlines beat both American and Delta to the prize by launching flights between Honolulu and Haneda last November.
AA will operate the route using Boeing B777-200 aircraft seating 247 passengers, departing JFK at 1810 and arriving in Tokyo at 2215. The return leg will depart at 0640 and arrive back in New York at 0515 the following day. The flight is a codeshare with Japan Airlines, enabling passengers to connect onwards to destinations beyond JFK or Haneda.
Meanwhile rivals Delta Airlines will also begin services to Haneda from both Los Angeles and Detroit just one day later on February 19.
The new services are facilitated by the Open Skies agreement signed between the US and Japan last year, which not only enabled American carriers to fly into Haneda International Airport but also accommodated the joint business venture between AA and Japan Airlines (see story here).
For more information, visit www.aa.com
Alisha Haridasani
