American Airlines' New New York-Tokyo Route Is Approved

DALLAS — American Airlines (AA) has received approval from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to launch nonstop service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Tokyo's Haneda International Airport (HND).

And so, AA beat United Airlines (UA) in securing the slot at HND in 2024. UA hasn't had the chance to move its flights from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Tokyo Narita Aiport (NRT) to arrive at HND, the latter just 20 minutes from Tokyo city in comparison to NRT, which is 50 miles east.

In addition, though only 20 miles (13 miles/21 km) from New York City, Newark is a New Jersey city. In its press release, AA takes this to heart, saying that it is now the sole U.S. carrier providing flights between New York and Tokyo, which is technically accurate.

The new AA daily flight between JFK and HND will begin on June 28, 2024. Passengers will have up to three daily flights, providing more options and flexibility for travel. The flights will be operated at convenient times throughout the day, complementing the existing flights offered by partner carrier Japan Airlines (JL).

The JFK-HND service will be AA's fourth daily nonstop flight to HND, in addition to its daily nonstop flights from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and two daily flights from Los Angeles (LAX).

Japan American Airlines route map. Image: American Airlines

New York-Tokyo Schedule

American's new daily flight between JFK and HND will be operated with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The flight will depart from JFK at 10:25 a.m. and arrive at HND at 1:30 p.m. the next day. The return flight will depart from HND at 3:30 p.m. and arrive at JFK at 3:35 p.m.

Customers traveling between JFK and HND will have access to a comprehensive network of flights operated by JL. AA's new service will offer roundtrip connections to more than 30 cities across Japan and East Asia, including major cities such as Osaka, Sapporo, and Fukuoka.

Tickets for AA's JFK-HND flights will be available starting February 26, 2024, on aa.com or AA's mobile app.

Featured image: American Airlines N758AN Boeing 777-200(ER). Photo: Miles Aronovitz/Airways