American Airlines has obtained tentative approval from the Department of Transportation (DoT) to begin the New York JFK-Tokyo Haneda route. The carrier obtained slots originally owned by Hawaiian Airlines, which returned 7 weekly frequencies to the agency.
American will be the only U.S. carrier to operate between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tokyo, complementing the services of its transpacific partner Japan Airlines.
The carrier offered a route between New York JFK and Tokyo Haneda before, but due to slot schedules the flight was economically unviable and was suspended on December 1, 2013. Currently, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways operate in this segment with two daily flights each. In addition, United offers daily flights to Narita and Haneda from Newark.
Proposed schedule
- New York JFK 10:00 – Tokyo Haneda 13:05+1
- Tokyo Haneda 15:05 – New York JFK 15:10
The proposed service will be operated by Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
More flights to Tokyo
American plans to begin nonstop service to Haneda in the coming months: the new flight will be the airline’s fourth daily flight to the airport, complementing the daily operation from Dallas/Fort Worth and the two daily flights from Los Angeles. Additionally, American has a daily service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tokyo Narita.
“We appreciate the strong bipartisan support from New York’s elected officials, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Rep, Schumer, Congressman Meeks, House Democratic Leader Jeffries, Congressman LaLota, Congressman D’Esposito, New York Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, New York State Assembly Speaker Heastie, New York State Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Queens Borough President Richards throughout the application process,” said Molly Wilkinson, American’s Vice President of International Regulatory and Government Affairs.
American Airlines and Japan Airlines will offer three daily flights between New York JFK and Tokyo Haneda offering customers more travel options and convenient schedules.
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