Open skies with Japan (well, almost)

[doseiai]

Japan being opposite of the rest of the world, planned for subways and trains, then lately realized cars and airplanes are needed too. After Kobe Airport, New Kitakyushu Airport, Chubu Intn Aiport (3 offshore 24hr airports) have opened in the last 2 years,
Kansai (Osaka, another offshore 24hr) will add two new runways one due in 2007,
Tokushima lengthen runway enough to handle Jumbo Jets, Narita will lengthen runway by 2009, Haneda (Tokyo) will add another in 2009. Naha (Okinawa) also considering adding another runway, along with Chubu (Nagoya), and brand new airport under construction now in Shizuoka. Kitakyushu airport could easily be lengthened.

With Shinkansen services steadily speeding up and expanding across the nation...that leaves fewer air customers...what are they gonna do with all those airports?

I wonder if discount airlines plan to open new int'l services? Already, Jetstar Asia opened discount flights to Osaka, Nagoya, and Bangkok Air to Hiroshima and Fukuoka.

[jpatokal]

Case by case...
* Kobe Airport: This was, of course, built in the spot where Kansai was originally supposed to go. Having both of them was insanely wasteful.
* New Kitakyushu Airport: Kyushu is far from Tokyo even with the fastest trains (>5 hrs), and the new offshore airport allows 24h operation. A new airline, Starflyer, was launched to serve the Kitakyushu-Tokyo sector and seems to be doing decently.
* Chubu Intn Aiport: Nagoya Komaki was too small and unexpandable. Chubu has easily the best design of Japan's major airports, with a good location (20 min to city) and painless international-domestic transfers, and is my airport of choice for transits into Japan.
* Kansai: Cf. Kobe airport. Traffic is finally picking up a little, so maaaybe the 2nd runway is justified, although the cost is just crazy.
* Tokushima: In easy striking distance of Kobe, Osaka-Itami and Kansai, and located in a rural area, this one is just stupid.
* Narita will lengthen runway by 2009: Long needed, the runway's been pending since the 1980s thanks to some recalcitrant farmers.
* Haneda (Tokyo) will add another in 2009: Very much needed also, this is Asia's busiest airport by far!
* Naha (Okinawa) also considering adding another runway: A useful project, as Okinawa is increasingly popular (despite not having yet been discovered outside Japan) and, being an island, unreachable by train. Ishigaki, another few islands to the south, is also building a much-needed new airport.
* Brand new airport under construction now in Shizuoka: Halfway between Nagoya and Tokyo, this is again in the stupid prestige project set.

It's interesting, though, that flights from Japan (pop. 125m) to Korea (50m) and China (what, 1300m) are still very expensive by world standards, meaning that they're monopolized and poorly competed. If a carrier ever manages to break through and start flying between them at LCC rates -- and the increase in the airports will certainly help -- there will be a huge increase in demand.

[jpatokal]

I'm a little surprised that this hasn't been covered by the mainstream media, but here's airlineroute.blogspot.com (http://airlineroute.blogspot.com/2007/11/japan-thailand-reach-openskies-deal.html) to the rescue:

Japan and Thailand has concluded an open-skies deal during the latest bilateral talk held on 28NOV07 and 29NOV07.

*Unlimited frequencies and airports between Japan and Thailand for carriers from each side, excluding Tokyo. This makes Thailand the 2nd country after Korea to sign such deal.

*Tokyo Narita Airport, which is still restricted, will have 21 weekly frequencies to be designated to any Thai carriers on any routes.

*Flights between Thailand and Japan via intermediate point (currently 17 weekly), as well as flights beyond each country (Currently 10 weekly), will be expanded to 21 weekly flights each