ANA to benefit from JAL problems

ANA (All Nippon Airways) is set to benefit from the reported 10,000 slots that will become available to Japanese carriers at Tokyo Narita Airport, equating to 13/14 daily departures, as fellow flag carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) is in the process of cutting its network and reducing frequencies on existing points, and consequently has no plans for current expansion. JAL has been at the centre of increased speculation regarding its long term viability, and was reportedly bailed out by the Japanese government, to the tune of potentially over a billion dollars (US).

JAL currently operates 715 weekly departures from Narita, giving it a market share of 22%, the largest carrier in terms of scheduled departures, followed by ANA with a market share of 14% with 448 weekly flights. However during 2010 this balance is likely to change. Of its 448 weekly flights from NRT 301 are international departures.

There are also 10,000 slots available for foreign carriers at Narita with the following carriers set to be amongst those who will benefit from this slot allocation.

• Emirates: Five weekly;
• Etihad: Five weekly;
• Qatar Airways: Seven weekly;
• Air Macau: Three weekly;
• Air Canada: Three weekly.

Currently the largest foreign based carriers at Narita are Northwest and United Airlines, both US based carriers have their Asian hub based in Narita.