First Regular Long-Haul Route To Be Haneda To Frankfort
Just days before the Friday certification announcement, ANA, the
launch customer of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, announced the first
international routes for the aircraft. The first Dreamliner is
scheduled to be received late September, with the first regular
long-haul international operation to be Haneda-Frankfurt, a new
route to operate from January 2012. The aircraft will also be used
on the Haneda-Beijing route from December, marking the
aircraft’s first regular international service.
The Dreamliner’s first regular domestic service will be
the Haneda-Okayama route starting on November 1, with a flight on
the Haneda-Hiroshima route also departing the same day.
As previously announced, ahead of its regular services, ANA will
also operate a special charter flight between Narita and Hong Kong
on October 26 and 27. It will be the world’s first passenger
flight of the Dreamliner. On the following days (October 28 and
29), excursion flights departing from and landing in Narita will
allow more customers to experience the increased level of comfort
associated with a flight in the Dreamliner.
Launching in January next year, the Boeing 787 will be used for
a new overnight service connecting Haneda and Frankfurt. Initially
three flights a week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), it is planned to
operate the flights daily from February 2012. The date services
begin and other information will be released as soon as they are
confirmed. This new route will be one of the Japan-Europe routes
operated by the joint venture between ANA and Lufthansa German
Airlines.
Ahead of the Haneda-Frankfurt service, the Boeing 787 will be
installed on the Haneda-Beijing route in December, 2011, marking
the aircraft’s first regular international service. The
Dreamliner will fly the route approximately once a week, until the
Haneda-Frankfurt service starts the following month. Further
details of the date the service will begin and other information
will be released, alongside those of the Haneda-Frankfurt route,
when confirmed.
On November 1, 2011, the Boeing 787 will start its regular
domestic services, first on the Haneda-Okayama route, and then
later the same day, the Haneda-Hiroshima route. By the end of this
fiscal year, the aircraft will be successively used on routes
connecting Haneda with Itami, Yamaguchi -Ube, and Matsuyama.
To mark the world’s first flight with passengers onboard
the 787, ANA will operate a charter flight from Narita to Hong Kong
on October 26, returning the following day on October 27. This
inaugural charter flight will be sold through package tours.