Jetstar cuts Japan flight schedule, moves Tokyo flights to Osaka

Jetstar -- the main Australian carrier into Japan -- has halved its Tokyo flights from fourteen to seven as demand in the Japanese market collapses following the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Business travellers from Australia are also cancelling their trips as DFAT Smartraveller guidance has kept Tokyo and the eastern half of Japan on the "do not travel" list, and travel insurers are unlikely to pay out on claims as a result.

After the cuts to Tokyo services, Jetstar's schedule now holds 25 flights a week between Japan and Australia.

In comparison, Jetstar's parent company Qantas flies to Japan only ten times a week, from Perth and Sydney to Tokyo's Narita airport.

Jetstar flies to Tokyo-Narita and Osaka-Kansai airports from Cairns and Coolangatta Gold Coast, with connecting flights to Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne via Gold Coast.

During the initial period of disruption from the earthquake, Jetstar's flights in the air were diverted to the US territory of Guam, roughly halfway between Australia and Japan.

The Jetstar flight cuts come the day after the airline's Singapore-based Jetstar Asia subsidiary launched direct Auckland-Singapore flights.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.