ROUTES ASIA: A One-to-One with Tokyo Narita’s Ken Murayama

Narita International Airport Corporation’s Vice President Corporate Strategies & Planning, Ken Murayama spoke ahead of the recent tragic earthquake and tsunami, about Japan’s new airline landscape and the opportunities presented by Japan – US Open Skies.

How did Narita’s traffic perform during 2010?

Last year the world was still recovering from the global financial crisis. At the start of the 2010 summer schedule, flights and passenger traffic began to exceed 2009 figures, with new services to the Middle East, Macau and Calgary, as a result of our increase in capacity from 200,000 slots a year to 220,000. Aircraft movements increased 2.2% to 191,459. Of these, 172,541 were international flights while 18,918 were domestic flights. Passenger traffic also increased 5.2% to 33,868,682, of which 32,216,298 were international passengers and 1,652,384 were domestic.

How have the major changes in Japan’s airline industry affected Narita?

JAL began corporate restructuring in January 2010 and drastically cut services (including all cargo flights) as part of that process. Meanwhile, the ANA Group significantly increased its services and, as a result, outstripped JAL and now operates more flights than its competitor. JAL’s flight reductions affected our aircraft movement figures to some extent, but this was limited because the economy began to recover in 2010. Passenger and cargo traffic improved. Japan Airlines is our biggest client and we hope to see it re-establishing itself and expanding its network at Narita again as soon as possible.

How has Narita’s network changed over the past few years?

Since opening in 1978, Narita has been East Asia’s hub airport and the leader in services between Asia and North America. Thanks to the support of many airlines and customers, we have been able to achieve steady growth. This was particularly well demonstrated when three new Middle East carriers began operating at Narita under the 2010 summer schedule after we were finally able to increase capacity from 200,000 slots a year to 220,000. Through this, we were able to expand our network even further. As of January 2011, our network included 95 cities in 36 countries and three territories. Narita has an extremely well-balanced international network, which is unique for major airports in the East Asia region. Our domestic network reaches nine airports in eight cities in Japan, linking key provincial centres with Narita’s extensive international network.

Which new routes would you most like to see added to Narita?

The government’s objective is to improve and consolidate airport functions in Greater Tokyo in order to meet demand in the bustling Asian region. As part of this effort, it is allowing international flights at the nation’s domestic hub, Haneda, and boosting capacity at Narita to 300,000 slots a year. These efforts will increase capacity in Greater Tokyo to 750,000 slots a year, including 360,000 international slots. In October last year, we reached an agreement with the local community to increase Narita’s capacity to 300,000 slots a year and we will now implement that increase in stages. After reaching an agreement with the US last year, the government is striving to establish Open Skies agreements, which include Narita Airport, with major ASEAN and East Asia countries. This will mean that our intra-Asia network to East Asia and ASEAN countries within a 4,000 kilometre radius will grow, opening possibilities for new airlines, particularly LCCs, that previously had relatively restricted access to Narita. The introduction of worldwide Open Skies will also mean real competition in airports’ network strategies. When that happens, our greatest source of power will come from the FSA alliances that have supported Narita Airport over its 32 years. We plan to continue building a more competitive airport by expanding our well-balanced networks to North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and improving our domestic feeder network so that we can continue to consolidate our advantages.

What opportunities or challenges do US–Japan Open Skies offer Narita?

The US–Japan Open Skies agreement signed in October 2010 freed up civil aviation relations between the two countries and was very significant for Narita Airport. This is particularly so in view of the fact that the three major alliance member airlines, United (Star Alliance), Delta (SkyTeam) and American (oneworld), have established hubs at Narita. Along with the Open Skies agreement, the joint application for antitrust immunity (ATI) on the Japan–US route by the three Star alliance members, All Nippon Airways, United Airlines and Continental Airlines, was granted. The oneworld members Japan Airlines and American Airlines were also granted approval for their joint ATI application. This means that the airlines are free to launch joint operations on the Pacific routes and will be able to provide better services, fares and operating schedules. Consequently, Narita will be able to offer greater convenience for its customers, respond to more diverse needs and enhance its standing for Japan–US services. As Open Skies agreements allow airlines to select an airport, Narita Airport intends to become heavily involved in promotion and marketing activities in order to allow us to become the airport of choice for a diverse range of airline clients.

* Read the full article, in the latest edition of Routes News. A copy of the world air service development magazine is also in all delegate bags at Routes Asia and there are copies on the Routes News stand.