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Airport Corporation, points out that Narita’s LCC terminal – Terminal 3 – opened in April 2015. The facility is an important component in Narita’s route development plans, a major element of which focuses on Asian cities within a 2,485-mile radius from Narita. The strategy is based on the flight ranges of the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, the workhorses of LCCs.


One step beyond Japan isn’t just about budget travel though. Narita typifies an aviation market that is going one step further in an attempt to win new business. The new LCC terminal is part of a $1.2 billion upgrade at Narita that includes additional aircraft parking stands, the expansion of the terminal facilities to improve the customer experience and an improvement in runway capacity. From March 2020, Narita will be able to handle 72 movements per hour. This follows on from a recent increase to 68. In effect, the airport has managed to expand the number of available slots, giving the route development team plenty of opportunities.


“Winning new routes is so important for Narita because it contributes to strengthening our international network and provides existing carriers with more opportunities for getting connecting passengers,” Samejima notes. Also assisting with route


development potential is the increasing use of such longer range aircraft as the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787. It gives airlines the chance to expand their network to cities where there was little possibility to operate a conventional fleet owing to insufficient demand. In Narita’s case, it means new airlines are showing interest in connecting to the Japanese capital. In fact, it has already brought significant wins. In 2015, thanks to the Boeing 787, Addis Ababa has been connected to Tokyo by Ethiopian Airlines and Brussels by ANA.


“The business environment is always changing,” Samejima sums up. “At Narita,


FOREIGN VISITORS TO JAPAN by COUNTRy/REGION


Europe/Russia 744,034 people 5.5%


North America 1,074,533 people 8.0%


Total


13,413,467 people (2014)


South East Asia 1,690,229 people 12.6%


Australia 302,656 people 2.3%


Others


681,748 people 5.1%


East Asia


8,920,267 people 66.5%


East Asia = Taiwan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong


South-east Asia = Thai, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India


North America = USA, Canada Europe = UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain


because we have great flexibility, we have put ourselves in a position to deal with this challenge swiftly and efficiently.”


Traditional split


Tokyo’s metropolitan area is also served by Haneda. The traditional split between the two gateways – with Narita serving the international market and Haneda serving the 92 million-strong domestic market – was torn asunder in the summer of 2014. Following a lengthy planning and consultation process, Haneda expanded its capacity by 30,000 international movements a year at the same time as Narita reduced its services by 63 flights per week. “In the short term at least, we


have to admit that this had an impact on our route development strategy,” says Koichi Okawara, director of the aviation marketing and sales department at Narita.


Source: Japan National Tourism Organization


But it was just the short term. Thanks to booming demand from the local catchment area, Haneda’s entrance into the international arena proved to be a temporary blip for Narita. Although Haneda has the advantage of being closer to central Tokyo, Narita’s extensive international network has shone through. Particularly crucial, according to Okawara, was Narita’s status as a hub for long-haul destinations with North American connectivity playing the leading role.


“Despite the changes, Haneda will remain largely focused on the domestic network and Narita will be used for international services,” Okawara says. “But we realise that as both airports serve the Tokyo metropolitan area, they need to work together by making use of their individual advantages and sharing functions.”


30 Routes News 2, 2016 routesonline.com


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