Emirates seeking to increase Dubai-Tokyo frequency

Emirates launched (28-Mar-2010) five times weekly Dubai-Tokyo service on 28-Mar-2010, with the carrier adding that it hopes to increase the frequency on the route to daily "as soon as possible" - see Route Changes Table for more information (Gulf News, 30-Mar-2010). The carrier is currently in negotiations with the Japanese Government regarding the increased frequency [more]

Emirates: "We continue negotiating and hopefully we will get [an agreement] sooner rather than later. There was a lack of slots [in Narita airport] because of runaway length. We wanted to come to Tokyo when we first started negotiations in 1998. Initially we were not able to get any right to Tokyo because of slot issues so the Japanese government offered us [the right to] Kansai [the international airport of Osaka], which we readily took on board and we developed that into a successful route...Tokyo will play an integral role on our route network and the launch of services to the city highlights Emirates' commitment to the Japanese market," Richard Vaughan, Divisional Senior Vice-President, Commercial Operations Worldwide. Source: Gulf News, 30-Mar-2010.