Virgin Australia to start Tokyo Haneda ops in early 3Q23

Virgin Australia has moved to secure its prized Tokyo Haneda slots and will commence daily B737-8 roundtrip services there from Cairns on June 28, 2023. The airline faced losing the fiercely fought-for slots, awarded in early 2020, if it did not commit to starting flights in 2023. Subject to regulatory approval, the two-cabin class B737-8 will take seven-and-a-half hours to complete the sector, with a lunchtime departure from Cairns arriving in Tokyo early in the evening. The return leg to Australia will depart mid-evening and arrive at around 0600L (2000Z) the following day. Virgin Australia noted that the Cairns arrival and departure times will allow for easy connections to and from Sydney Kingsford Smith, Melbourne Tullamarine, and Brisbane Int'l. "It was a long time in the making for Virgin Australia," said CEO Jayne Hrdlicka in Cairns on Wednesday. "We've been looking at this for many months. Haneda for us is a logical place. It is the most important airport in Tokyo and attaches to the biggest catchment in Tokyo. We're really excited to connect Haneda to Cairns and the rest of Australia." The service is been underwritten by the Queensland government's A$200m Attracting Aviation Investment Fund. Neither Virgin Australia nor the government has disclosed the amount the airline is receiving to operate the flights, but the same fund has been used recently to attract other airlines to Queensland, such as United Airlines' freshly launched Brisbane-San Francisco, CA flights. Hrdlicka confirmed that the Haneda flights would not have been possible without government support.<br/>