Qantas expected to chase new Tokyo flight

Qantas is likely to throw its hat into the ring for the right to fly between Australia and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, following Virgin Australia’s decision to scrap its Cairns-Tokyo flights.

Both airlines were granted one ‘daily slot pairing’ of take-off and landing spots for Haneda in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, along with a similarly split allocation for ANA and Japan Airlines.

Of course, the pandemic changed all that, especially for Virgin Australia.

Not only did Japan shut its borders and push the Olympics back to 2021, but Virgin Australia collapsed and new owners Bain Capital scrapped the Airbus A330 jets assigned to the promised Brisbane-Tokyo flights, which were set to begin on March 31, 2020.

Virgin Australia eventually reclaimed the slot by launching Boeing 737 flights between Cairns and Tokyo Haneda in June 2023, only to announce in July 2024 the route was “no longer commercially viable,” citing lower-than-expected visitation from Japan as a key factor in its decision.

This has put the second Australia-Tokyo Haneda slot back on the market, and Qantas is in the box seat.

Australia’s International Air Services Commission has today flagged “that one (1) daily frequency is now available for allocation on the Japan route, to service Tokyo (Haneda) Airport. 

“The capacity is available to be utilised from 25 February 2025,” the IASC notes – with that being the day after Virgin’s final Cairns-Tokyo flight on February 24, 2025.

The IASC says it is now “working towards allocating the one (1) daily frequency by 10 October 2024,” in advance of the late February kick-off.

Qantas originally applied for both of the new Australia-Tokyo Haneda slots, which must be scheduled for a daytime arrival to Tokyo – and with Virgin Australia out of the frame and no other contender, it’s likely to add a second Haneda route to its roster.

While Qantas already has two daily flights from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda, its flights from Melbourne and Brisbane both fly into the more distant Tokyo Narita airport.

Travellers can expect one of those routes to be switched to Haneda, which is conveniently located closer to the centre of Tokyo than the more distant Narita – although there’s always the wild card option of a new red-tailed route such as Perth-Tokyo, should the airline have the aircraft and perhaps funding from the WA government.

Fellow Oneworld member Japan Airlines offers a flurry of connections from Haneda to other domestic airports across Japan, while also making its Haneda first class and business class lounges available to eligible Qantas passengers.