Virgin Atlantic to shift Tokyo airports

Virgin Atlantic is to move its Tokyo operation from Narita Airport to Haneda from early 2014.

The move comes as Haneda looks to develop its international terminal and make daytime slot available to long-haul carriers, while also offering more connections into other Japanese destinations.  

Virgin Atlantic will also deploy a new aircraft on the route. It will continue to operate to Narita with its codeshare agreement with ANA.

“2014 is a key year in Virgin Atlantic history. It marks our 25^th anniversary of successfully operating flights to Japan and will see us deploying one of our first brand new Boeing 787 aircraft on the route,” said Steve Ridgway, CEO of Virgin Atlantic. “We have definitely seen the market recover post last year’s tragic earthquake with an additional 23% capacity and passenger numbers up by 77%.”

By Amanda Greenwood, 17 September 2012, Monday 3:12 PM