ANA expands Japan-China flights

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) began selling tickets Tuesday, August 4, for new and expanded flight schedules from Japan to China.

Starting with the 2015 winter schedule that begins October 25, ANA plans to launch new service from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) to Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China (CAN) and double the number of daily flights from HND to Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (PVG).

The decision to increase services from Haneda follows the successful outcome of intergovernmental talks between Japan and China in May, the airline said in a statement announcing the new services.

ANA Dreamliner
New flights to Guangzhou, which will begin October 25, will depart HND at 09:25 and will arrive at CAN at 13:50. Return flights will leave CAN at 15:05 and arrive at HND at 20:00. Flights will be aboard Boeing (NYSE:BA) 767-300 aircraft. According to SeatGuru.com, ANA operates two configurations of the 767-300 on international routes. Each offers 35 recliner or angle-flat Business class seats that are either 20 or 21.5 inches wide, with pitch of 50 or 59 inches, respectively. Pitch is the distance from the back of one seat to the back of the seat in front of it.

The 767-300 aircraft accommodate either 167 or 179 passengers in standard economy seats that are either 18.6 inches or 17 inches wide, respectively, with pitch measurements of 31 inches in both configurations.

ANA’s doubling of the number of daily flights to Beijing and Shanghai will enable the carrier to offer flights that depart HND in the late afternoon and arrive in the early evening, in addition to the existing flights that depart in the morning and arrive around midday.

Existing flights to Beijing leave HND at 09:25 and reach their destination at 12:35, while return flights leave at 15:45 and arrive at 20:00. New flights will leave for Beijing at 17:25 and arrive at 20:25, while return flights will leave Beijing at 08:30 and arrive at 12:45.

Existing flights to Shanghai leave HND at 10:00 and reach their destination at 12:25, while return flights leave at 13:40 and arrive at 17:25. New flights will leave for PVG at 18:30 and arrive at 21:10, while return flights will leave Shanghai at 08:20 and arrive at 12:05.

New flights to PVG will be aboard Boeing 767-300s while existing flights are on Boeing 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliners, according to ANA’s booking website.

While the additional flights still require approval from relevant authorities, if approved, the new service to Guangzhou will be ANA’s fourth route from Haneda to major cities in China including Hong Kong (HKG). With its Narita-China network of 10 routes, the expansion will further strengthen ANA’s network linking China and the Tokyo metropolitan region.

The expanded network will also help business and leisure passengers from China to connect to other destinations in Japan using ANA’s domestic network from Haneda. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Narita Airport (NRT) is being strengthened as a hub for passengers connecting to international routes between North America and Asia, the airline said.

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