Japan’s Next Shot at Developing an Airliner, Fukuoka Airport’s New Midterm Plan & More

Welcome to the March 29, 2024, edition of the This Week in Japanese Aviation newsletter!

Japan’s government announced plans to develop an airliner and Fukuoka Airport outlined its ambitious international network expansion ambitions as part of its new midterm growth plan covering the period up to FY2028.

Continue reading to see what else happened in Japan’s aviation industry over the last seven days. While the highlights are below, there are too many news to cover here comprehensively. As such, make sure to stop by Japan Aviation Hub too.

Routes

Hong Kong Airlines is expanding presence in Japan by adding extra frequencies on Kumamoto and Tokyo Narita routes. The former increased from three to four weekly on March 25, 2024, and the latter will increase from three to four daily from March 31, 2024.

Shenzhen Airlines will launch flights between Shenzhen and Nagoya Chubu on March 31, 2024. The airline will use Airbus A320-200 aircraft on the daily route.

Scoot will increase the number of weekly flights on its one-stop Singapore - Tokyo Narita via Taipei Taoyuan route from the current one daily to 12 weekly rotations. It will also deploy its A321neo to Japan for the first time.

Lufthansa will turn Munich - Osaka Kansai daily from April 27, 2024. Currently, the route operates five times a week.

AirAsia X suspended its plan to resume Taipei - Tokyo Narita fifth freedom route due to the lack of governmental approval.

Passenger Experience

Ibex expanded themed service onboard its Rakuten Eagles Jet to include a welcome announcement by one of the baseball team’s players. On home game days, the cabin crew onboard the aircraft will wear the team’s uniforms too.

Air New Zealand will upgauge its daily Auckland - Tokyo Narita flights from October 2024. It will use the 777-300ER on the route instead of the current 787-9.

Airports

Saga Airport runway extension plan is now understood by the public with over 90% of 1,300 answers to Saga Prefecture’s request for commentary being either “understood” or “to an extent understood.”

Fukuoka Airport released its new midterm plan covering the period until 2028. By then, the airport hopes to expand its international network considerably. In 2026, it aims to turn profitable.

Manufacturing & MRO

A Mitsubishi Regional Jet prototype is expected to be put on display in the Aichi Museum of Flight near Nagoya Komaki Airport according to The Yomiuri Shimbun report.

Japan plans to take another shot at developing an airliner, this time focusing on next-generation propulsion technologies. The government, together with private companies, plans to invest 5 trillion yen into the project.

Did You Know That…

While the A350 was the first type JAL ordered from Airbus, the airline operated A300s in the past. It got hold of the aircraft through a merger with Japan Air System.

That’s it for this week - thank you for reading and have a great week!

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