Japanese Airport Growth Booming
Rapid growth of new airports existing terminals continues throughout Japan, including a new wing opening at Tokyo's Narita International Airport in June and the recent debut of a third airport serving the Osaka metropolitan area.
While some industry observers said that Japan, which currently has 97 airports, has been building far more airports than it actually needs, the bottom line is that the situation is beneficial to consumers in terms of convenience, frequency of service and airfares. In particular, last year's opening of Nagoya's Central Japan International Airport, known as Centrair, has enabled a number of international carriers, including American, Continental and United airlines, to expand their service to Japan.
"For years, Narita was the only international gateway, but this has changed dramatically and Japan is far more accessible," said Bruce Kanfer, director of marketing and sales for the Japan Convention Bureau in New York. "Not only is there much more nonstop service and more carriers in the market, but the addition of new gateways has also been driving airfares down."
While most new airport construction in Japan has been focused in regional markets, the next project to be unveiled will be the new South Wing, scheduled to open on June 2 at Narita's Terminal One. Along with primary tenant All Nippon Airways, the new wing will be home to other Star Alliance member carriers, including United Airlines. Air Canada, Asiana, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Varig and Thai Airways.
The South Wing, which will be over 2 million square feet—nearly as big as the main terminal—at the new Nagoya airport, will feature 126 self-service checkin units in the departure area, including an island devoted only to self-checkin units. United and ANA passengers will be able to use the same machines.
The new wing will feature two new departure lounges available to both ANA frequent flyers and Star Alliance Gold members. An ANA arrivals lounge, available to ANA frequent flyers and passengers in business and first class, will be equipped with concierge service and showers for travelers wishing to freshen up after long flights. The South Wing also will be home to the largest duty-free shopping mall at any airport in Japan.
According to ANA spokesman Rob Henderson, the South Wing will tie into Star Alliance's "Move Under One Roof" concept to provide more convenience for passengers using one or more Star Alliance carriers at large airports. "It will enable us to offer much shortened connection times to customers, and a more enjoyable journey through the airport," he said.
The next major expansion project for Narita will be the completion of a runway extension in 2009. Another airport-related project under development is the Narita Rapid Railway which is designed to cut the lengthy transfer time between Narita and downtown Tokyo in half. When the railway is completed in 2010, passengers will be able to transfer from the airport to central Tokyo by train in little more than half an hour.
Haneda Airport, which handles most domestic air service in and out of Tokyo, is scheduled for a major expansion that will enable the busy airport, which has reached the limit of its capacity, to expand its available slots for new air service by 40 percent. The expansion, which includes the addition of a fourth runway, is expected to be completed in 2009 and have a major impact on domestic air competition in Japan.
The latest of several new airports in Japan is Kitakyushu Airport, which opened in March on an artificial island in the Seto Inland Sea just south of Kitakyushu near Fukuoa in southwestern Japan. The airport has the most extensive operating hours of any in Japan—21 hours daily—and has enough runway capacity to handle jumbo jet aircraft. The new facility, which replaced a much smaller airport, has enabled carriers, including Japan Airlines, to offer increased service to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The airport also provides thrice-daily service to Nagoya.
Kobe Airport opened in February on an artificial island just off the coast of the city of Kobe. The airport, which handles domestic flights throughout Japan and international charters, is the third airport in the Osaka area, which also has the 12-year-old Kansai International Airport and the older Osaka International Airport. Almost all service at Kobe is provided by the two major Japanese-based carriers, ANA and Japan Airlines.
Air capacity in the Osaka region will be further increased when a major expansion at Kansai is completed over the next several years. Kansai plans to add a second runway and a passenger terminal building.
Meanwhile, transpacific air service to Japan continues to increase. Japan Airlines added four nonstop flights per week between Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Narita on March 26, giving it twice-daily service between the two airports. The airline, which uses B747-700 aircraft on the Chicago-Tokyo route, is in the process of adding Internet service to all cabins on the route.