Qantas and Japan Airlines may have a little more competition on flights between Australia and Japan, if rumours of ANA’s return to Sydney are true.
According to media reports, the All Nippon Airways (ANA) is poised to announce the re-launch of flights on the Sydney and Tokyo route this week.
It would be the airline’s first time flying on the route in over 16 years.
Using a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, services could resume as early as October, ABS reported.
Returning into the Australian market would increase competition on the route, which is currently operated by Qantas and Japan Airlines (JAL) as well as low-cost airline Jetstar.
JAL currently offers daily services between Sydney and Narita, while Jetstar covers flights from Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Cairns.
Qantas is tweaking its Japan services in August this year by introducing the larger A330 on flights between Brisbane and Tokyo and moving its Sydney flights from Tokyo to Haneda.
ANA 787 Special Livery
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In addition to giving Australian travellers more airline choice, ANA’s return would also help meet increased passenger traffic between the two destinations.
Earlier this year, a Japan Tourism spokesperson told KarryOn that the number of Aussie travellers heading to Japan last year increased by over 22 percent.
