Airfares from Japan spike as travellers exit or move south, inbound fares drop
Airfares from Tokyo's main international gateway, Narita Airport, to several key world cities have spiked in recent days as increasing numbers of people leave the country. A sample of fares from Tokyo Narita to Beijing, Frankfurt and New York JFK show a doubling of best available economy seats on certain days for departures from the Japanese capital.
Click here to view a range of fares data from Tokyo Narita.
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to Beijing: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to Frankfurt: Feb-2011 to Apr-2011
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to New York JFK: Feb-2011 to Apr-2011
Business fares from Narita to key short-haul destinations, including Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon have also risen in recent days, but ease for travel booked up to 30 days ahead.
Return business fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to Hong Kong: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Return business fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Meanwhile, economy fares to leisure destinations, such as Honolulu, have remained relatively steady, though the forward profile has weakened.
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Narita to Honolulu: Feb-2011 to Apr-2011
Inbound fares falling
Some inbound markets to Japan are also showing signs of weakness, including from Shanghai.
Return economy fares travelling from Shanghai to Tokyo Narita: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
The outlook for fares from Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita has also weakened substantially. Click here for more fares data from Seoul Incheon.
Return economy fares travelling from Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Singapore Airlines' Japan services are operating as per normal schedules since last Friday's earthquake and tsunami, although it will delay the introduction of A380 equipment on SQ11/12 to Los Angeles via Tokyo Narita from late Mar-2011 "until further notice", due to "lesser demand" for travel to Japan. The service will continue to operate with B747-400 aircraft. Separately, an airline spokesman said the carrier is seeing some cancellations for flights to Tokyo, while "loads for flights out of the Japanese capital are strong".
Fares from Singapore to Narita appear to be holding up. Click here for more fares data from Singapore Changi Airport.
Return economy fares travelling from Singapore to Tokyo Narita: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Domestic fares also rise
Fares on one of the world's busiest routes from Tokyo to Sapporo in the country's north have also risen in recent days. Click here for more fares data from Tokyo Haneda.
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo Chitose: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
While fares for travellers heading south in Japan have also risen for near term travel.
Return economy fares travelling from Tokyo Haneda to Osaka Itami: Oct-2010 to Apr-2011
Airlines will be closely monitoring demand conditions, including cancellations and forward bookings, in the Japanese market in coming days and are expected to adjust capacity levels accordingly.
See related report: Uncertainty prevails in global financial markets. Travel patterns to be disrupted: Japan Update #5