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Hokkaido International Airlines better known as Air Do, a Sapporo-based low-cost carrier, earlier this week has announced its plan to commence twice daily flights from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Tokachi-Obihiro airport to begin in March next year. Adding Obihiro to its network of flights, mainly concentrating on flights to cities in Hokkaido, it will be its fifth connecting Tokyo and Hokkaido. Air Do currently operates services from Tokyo to Sapporo (New Chitose airport), Hakodate, Asahikawa and Memambetsu.

The flights will be operated using its latest Boeing B737-500 aircraft, brought into service earlier this month, with a seating capacity for 126 passengers. Air Do now has a fleet of 2 aircraft types consisting of Boeing B737s and Boeing B767s. AirDo and All Nippon Airways have been long-time code-sharing partners, where ANA sells seats on all flights operate by Air Do.

Until 2002, the Haneda-Obihiro sector was served by 2 companies, Japan Airlines and Japan Air System, however after the merger of the two companies left JAL being the sole carrier on this route with no other carriers to compete against for a number of years. It is now hoping that the new entrant could spur some competition, to help raise the service level and bring down the fare, benefiting the users. The additional flights will help revitalize the local economy and stimulate demand for air travel.

The flight schedules have yet to be released while it is currently pending the approval by the relevant ministies.

Japan Airlines (JAL) will further expand its code share agreement with Vietnam Airlines (VN) and will start offering the Osaka (Kansai) – Hanoi route operated by VN from January 13, 2010.

As announced in November last year, Japan Airlines will suspend its existing once-daily flight between Osaka (Kansai) and Hanoi from January 11, 2010. Hanoi, with its high economic growth and rich culture, remains a key destination in South East Asia that attracts many foreign businessmen and leisure travelers. Through the new code share arrangement, JAL will maintain a network of 7 routes with 33 weekly round-trip flights to Vietnam and continue providing valued customers with convenient connections to the popular city.

JAL operates flights from Tokyo (Narita) to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, and also offer code share flights with Vietnam Airlines on the routes Osaka (Kansai) – Ho Chi Minh, Fukuoka – Ho Chi Minh, Fukuoka – Hanoi, and Nagoya (Chubu) – Hanoi.

Reservations and ticket sales of the new code share flights start tomorrow.

New Osaka (Kansai) – Hanoi Code Share Flights

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