All Nippon Airways will operate at 90% pre-pandemic capacity for its North American network, as the Japanese carrier announces a capacity ramp-up for the Northern winter travel season between November and March 2023.
Most of the increased capacity will be on flights from Tokyo Haneda, says the Star Alliance carrier, including resuming operations to Washington DC and Houston, as well as increasing frequencies from Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
It is also resuming daily flights from Tokyo Haneda to points in Southeast Asia, including to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. Flights to Delhi and Bangkok, meanwhile, will see an increase in frequencies.
The airline adds: “Flight plans for select routes such as the Europe and Honolulu routes are still being finalised and will be announced separately as soon as they are determined.”
The capacity ramp-up comes as Japan eases its travel restrictions further for general visitors. On 31 August, prime minister Fumio Kishida announced the increase in visitor entry caps to 50,000.
Japan will also allow non-escorted visitors on tour packages to enter the country. Current restrictions require visitors to be on a fully-escorted tour package, a move that has been criticised as too costly for many travellers.
Kishida’s latest announcement comes days after he said Japan will do away with pre-departure testing for fully-vaccinated inbound visitors who have received their booster shots.
