TOKYO - ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will begin coordinating departure times on the Haneda-Okayama route from October 25, an unusual move by Japan's two largest airline groups as weak business travel, a weaker yen and rising fuel and labor costs put increasing pressure on domestic operations.
The airlines announced on August 18 that they will adjust selected morning and evening flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Okayama Airport, widening the interval between competing departures and giving passengers a broader range of travel times.
For morning flights from Haneda to Okayama, ANA will shift a departure from 8:15 a.m. to 8:20 a.m., while JAL will move its flight from 7:50 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. The gap between the two departures will therefore widen from 25 minutes to 55 minutes.
Airlines have traditionally scheduled flights around the times they believe will attract the most passengers, often resulting in rival carriers departing within a short period of each other. The new arrangement reflects a shift toward spreading flights more evenly to improve convenience while reducing direct overlap.
The move comes as Japan's domestic airline market struggles to recover fully from structural changes that followed the pandemic. Business travel has declined, while higher fuel prices, labor costs and the weaker yen have increased operating expenses.
Cooperation between ANA and JAL has previously been constrained by competition rules, particularly where coordination could affect fares or reduce competition. Discussions by government experts over the sustainability of domestic aviation have opened the way for greater cooperation in areas where maintaining routes is becoming increasingly difficult.
Okayama was selected partly because of intense competition with the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen. The rail journey from Tokyo to Okayama takes about three hours and 15 minutes, placing the route close to the so-called four-hour threshold at which high-speed rail becomes a particularly strong competitor to air travel.
Airlines also face a disadvantage because Okayama Airport is about 30 minutes by bus from Okayama Station and has no direct rail connection. Similar airport-access challenges exist in other regions, including Hiroshima and Ibaraki.
By spacing departures more widely, ANA and JAL are seeking to make air travel more convenient for passengers who might otherwise choose the Shinkansen, particularly travelers who need departures slightly earlier or later than those previously offered.
The cooperation could eventually expand beyond the Haneda-Okayama route. Neither airline has announced other routes for coordinated schedules, but ANA and JAL already cooperate in some airport operations, including ground handling, at locations such as Sendai.
Further collaboration could include more integrated use of ground-handling equipment and personnel, while broader forms of joint operation have also been discussed as possible ways to improve the efficiency of regional services.
Codesharing between major airline groups has already begun on some remote-island routes. Expanding similar arrangements to other regional services would require balancing competition, which can help keep fares down, against the need to preserve routes where passenger numbers are insufficient to support extensive duplication.
The pressure on domestic operations is also pushing Japanese airlines to place greater emphasis on international growth.
ANA recently announced that the number of international flights it will operate in the second half of the fiscal year will increase 4% from a year earlier. The airline will also operate its Narita-Mumbai and Haneda-Milan routes daily.
With limited growth expected in Japan's domestic market, international services are becoming increasingly important. ANA's membership in Star Alliance gives it access to a wider European network, while Italy can serve as a gateway for passengers traveling between Japan and southern Europe.
India is another important growth market. ANA began focusing on the country around two decades ago, including operating small aircraft configured entirely with business-class seats. Competition is intensifying as JAL strengthens its position through cooperation with India's largest low-cost carrier.
International traffic is also becoming increasingly important for regional Japanese airports.
Matsuyama Airport in Ehime Prefecture recorded its highest-ever passenger numbers in fiscal 2025, supported by strong tourism demand. International passenger traffic increased 22.9%.
Airlines from South Korea and Taiwan have been expanding services to regional Japanese airports as inbound tourism grows, allowing them both to carry travelers directly to destinations outside Tokyo and Osaka and to attract Japanese regional passengers through their overseas hubs.
However, persuading foreign visitors to use domestic flights within Japan remains difficult. Only about 4% currently do so, according to the discussion, while the Shinkansen itself has become a tourism attraction for many overseas visitors.
The Haneda-Okayama initiative therefore represents more than a timetable adjustment. As Japan's domestic aviation market faces limited growth and rising costs, cooperation between longtime rivals could become an increasingly important tool for maintaining regional air services while competing with the country's extensive high-speed rail network.
Source: テレ東BIZ
