Japan Airlines (JAL) will utilise the Boeing B787 Dreamliner on the non-stop service between Tokyo Narita International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport to be launched from April of next year.
The carrier announced it would start with four flights a week, departing Tokyo on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, then go to daily on June 1, 2012.
Technical delays have held up delivery of the trend-setting B787 to JAL’s rival and launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) for nearly three years, but the wait seems to be over with Boeing saying it was confident the carrier would receive the aircraft in either August or September. In July, the manufacturer and ANA will carry out flight and maintenance and servicing tests in Japan.
Once the Tokyo-Boston service is up, JAL will be the only carrier to directly link Asia and Boston, facilitating travel to and from cities in the US' New England area. The development represents an achievement for local officials who have been lobbying airlines to begin non-stop services to Asia.
American Airlines will code share on this flight. The carrier is also in talks with JetBlue Airways, to explore the possibility of utilising the Jetblue's hub operations in Boston to provide customers with seamless connections and options to and from major destinations in the East Coast.
Boston will join New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu as the sixth US gateway served by JAL from its Narita base. Reservations and ticket sales can be made at JAL starting from May 28 and American Airlines from mid-June.
For more information, visit www.jal.co.jp/en
Rachael Ho and Margie T Logarta
