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For Japan’s hard-hit airlines, demand for Hawaii flights offers glimmer of hope -Breaking

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© Reuters. Passengers queue up for a Hawaii flight at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, Tokyo, Japan, April 29th, 2022. REUTERS/Maki Schiraki

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Maki Shiraki

TOKYO, Reuters – Japan’s airlines have been betting on a tourism recovery after the COVID-19 woes. Many Japanese are now planning to travel overseas and will not be subject to quarantine restrictions.

Japan Airlines Co Ltd and ANA Holdings Inc saw a surge in interest for Hawaii-bound flights after the conclusion of a popular holiday season.

Japan waived quarantine requirements and isolation requirements on March 1, for triple-vaccinated citizens returning from the United States, and other countries. From April 1, it also reduced its U.S.-infected travel alert.

Masahiro, who was traveling with his wife Masahiro and their two children to Hawaii, stated that “the fact you don’t need to quarantine after returning is a huge reason why we chose Hawaii.”

The overall sector is being influenced by the rising demand for Hawaii flights, which has been a popular destination of choice for Japanese tourists. This shows airlines that they are eager to capitalize on the pent-up demand, even though fuel prices are higher and there are more testing requirements.

Kaori Sato is a college student who will be departing on a seven-day trip to Hawaii along with her sister and mother. Although I am still concerned about corona, I have had three vaccination shots so I believe I will be okay.

RESERVATIONS JUMP

According to statistics from the government, only 510,000 Japanese traveled abroad last year. This is down from 20 million for 2019.

However, international bookings prior to the holiday, also known as ‘Golden Week in Japan’, soared. ANA saw a fivefold increase and JAL more that fourfold.

ANA announced that they are aiming to return more passengers to Los Angeles and New York, as well to other popular destinations for Japanese tourists.

Also, there are hopes that an inbound tourist ban could soon be lifted after Fumio Kishida (Japan Prime Minister) stated Thursday that the Japanese border policies would be reviewed next month.

JAL intends to resume daily flights in Hawaii starting June. ANA, however, stated it will use the 520-seater Airbus A380 for some Hawaii routes beginning in July.

As a fuel surcharge, the ticket price will increase to 62,000 Yuan ($475).

Angie Matsuo from Hawaii said her parents and she had to spend more than 100,000yen for the combined PCR testing required prior to leaving. That equates roughly to over $250 each. A second test must be completed before you can return home.

Matsuo stated that testing can be a pain because it requires a lot money, effort, and time. Matsuo said that the depreciation and price rises of the Japanese yen are both a problem. However, I do not know when I will be able again so I think it is now or never.

($1 = 130.6200 yen)

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