Melbourne Airport: Japan Airlines launches its first ever Melbourne route with a daily non-stop serv
29-May-2017 Japan Airlines launches its first ever Melbourne route with a daily non-stop service
Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced it will run a daily non-stop service from Melbourne to Tokyo marking the first time a Japanese carrier has operated out of the world's most livable city.
The airline will fly Victorians on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with a capacity of 186 seats. The aircraft is configured to provide a larger than normal allocation of premium seating, to capture the strong business links between Japanese companies and Melbourne.
Tickets are now on sale for the service and the inaugural flight is set to depart Melbourne Airport on Saturday 2 September 2017.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Simon Gandy welcomed the Japanese airline's announcement.
"I'm thrilled at JAL's decision to bring its service to Melbourne, supporting the growing demand between Victoria and Tokyo for holidaymakers and business travelers alike. JAL is an extremely popular airline, most recently awarded 'Japan's best airline' by TripAdvisor in the 2017 Travellers' Choice awards," Mr Gandy said.
"Our travellers will find the flight times convenient for business purposes, with services departing Melbourne at 12:05am, arriving into Tokyo at approximately 9:30am. Travellers departing Tokyo around midday will arrive into Melbourne at 9:55pm. This is important given a number of significant Japanese companies including Toyota and Mitsubishi have their Australian headquarters located in Melbourne. One of our greatest strengths is our curfew-free status, which allows us to operate non-stop services such as this one, 24 hours a day. We're always open and can provide greater flexibility for our airlines and their travellers."
"Over recent years we have seen a significant increase in tourism between Victoria and Japan. Last year, 283,000 people travelled between the two destinations and from 2012 to 2016, the market has increased on average by 20 per cent year-on-year. We look forward to this service commencing in September, adding yet another direct international service to Melbourne Airport."