Japan Airlines to start Haneda-to-Oahu service

Japan Airlines, which flies six times a day to Hawaii from Narita International Airport outside Tokyo, is planning to begin charter flights to Honolulu from Tokyo's domestic airport, Haneda, according to a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper.

Gilbert Kimura, the Hawaii spokesman for JAL, said yesterday he hasn't received independent confirmation but that there had been talk for a long time that Haneda would again start to offer international flights.

"Before Narita opened up (in 1978), Haneda was domestic and international," Kimura said. "But with expansion and bigger planes, they needed a bigger place for international and created Narita and left Haneda with domestic. Now, because of the number of flights and people traveling abroad, they're going to open up Haneda, too."

JAL will run charter flights to Honolulu, using the final domestic flight of the day arriving at Haneda and departing for Honolulu in the early morning hours, mainly in July and August, according to the newspaper report.

Kimura said service to Honolulu from Haneda, which recently expanded, would be well received and that he expected scheduled service eventually would follow.

"Haneda is right next to Tokyo so it's probably less than 30 minutes to go to Haneda and over an hour to go to Narita," he said. "Haneda is an ideal airport to have many departures from because it would be really convenient to people."

Kimura said he has not heard yet how many charter flights will be coming to Hawaii. Currently, JAL flies five daily flights to Honolulu and one to Kona on the Big Island.