Tokyo, Seoul getting closer
 |
ANA and JAL plan to run Seoul charter flights from Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
Story Tools
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
|
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
TOKYO, Japan -- Overall travel time on the busy Tokyo-Seoul route will fall by more than an hour when Japanese and South Korean carriers begin charter flights between domestic airports in the two cities later this month.
Japan Airlines System (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have sought permission from Japan's Ministry of Transport to operate charter flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Seoul's Gimpo Airport, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai business daily Friday.
South Korea's Korean Airlines and Asiana Airlines are making similar applications to government authorities.
Haneda and Gimpo airports are currently reserved for domestic flights. They are much closer to the Tokyo and Seoul central business districts than the respective international airports at Narita and Incheon.
JAL and ANA are proposing discount rates for the route about 7-13 percent higher than those between Narita and Incheon.
But because of the potential time saving, the airlines expect the new service to be highly popular with business travellers.
After meetings in June, the two countries agreed to charter flights between Haneda and Gimpo, with the first flight scheduled for November 30. The four carriers will each make one round trip a day.
According to the Nihon Keizai, the travel time on the Tokyo side will be cut by 30-50 minutes, and in Seoul the time saved will be 30 minutes.
