All Nippon Airways launches flights between Tokyo and Perth

Western Australia's tourism industry has been given a shot in the arm with the All Nippon Airways' (ANA) inaugural flight from Tokyo touching down at Perth Airport this evening.

The new daily, non-stop service between Tokyo Narita and Perth is a major coup for Perth Airport and Western Australia and adds more than 134,000 seats to the market each year.

Perth Airport Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brown said attracting new direct services to Perth delivers enormous benefits for the WA economy.

"Japan has become Perth's tenth largest international visitor market with 29,000 Japanese visitors arriving into WA each year, contributing $58 million to the economy.

"With this new direct flight there's lots of opportunities for these numbers to grow," Mr Brown said.

It is estimated that Japanese tourism numbers will grow by 76,000 and will boost the economy by $175.5 million in just three years.

"Perth is only the second Australian city served by ANA, showing the airline's commitment to the Western Australian tourism industry, and we are looking forward to building a strong partnership with ANA to ensure this route is a success for both the airline and WA.

"This service also makes it easier for outbound passengers to tap into ANA's extensive domestic network and we also expect the service to increase trade and business opportunities for companies in both countries," Mr Brown continued.

All Nippon Airway's Chairman Shinya Katanozaka said that today marks another significant milestone in ANA's history.

"The inaugural flight from Tokyo has now arrived in Perth, strengthening bonds between these two wonderful cities.

"Perth is the largest gateway to Western Australia, and this route will make it easier for more people in Australia to visit and experience all Japan has to offer, from cherry blossoms in spring to the winter skiing season.

"We are also looking forward for the people in Australia to travel to Japan for the Rugby World Cup later this month. I hope that everyone who visits Japan will enjoy the food and culture there as well as its unique climate and the beauty of our nature," added Mr Katanozaka.

The launch of ANA's service is perfectly timed for the 2019 Rugby World Cup which starts in late September and runs until early November, and of course the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The launch also coincides with Shinju Matsuri, or Festival of the Pearl, a truly unique Broome experience and the start of the Wildflower season in Western Australia, which is also an extremely popular sight-seeing activity for Japanese visitors to Perth.

"The "Team WA" approach of working with tourism, businesses, exporters, and the Government has paid off with the commencement of this flight and we are still seriously focused on more international route development to help this grow further," Mr Brown said.

ANA's new daily Tokyo Narita - Perth service will depart Tokyo at 1110hrs to arrive in Perth at 2015hrs. The aircraft will then depart from Perth at 2145hrs, to arrive in Tokyo at 0825hrs the following morning.

The airline will operate daily services between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Perth (PER) on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which has a total of 184 seats including 32 Business Class seats, 14 Premium Economy Class and 138 Economy Class seats.