Kansai International Airport services dropped

Airlines to drop Kansai services

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2009/1/19

OSAKA--Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will slash or suspend flights on nine domestic routes in and out of Kansai International Airport in fiscal 2009, sources said.

The airlines will switch their focus to Osaka International Airport, which has higher seat occupancy rates, they said. U.S.-based Northwest Airlines will also suspend flights between Kansai and Detroit and Saipan from March.

The second spate of cuts to Kansai airport services follows a round of reductions and suspensions introduced last autumn. Airport revenue is expected to be severely impacted by the scaleback in operations, the sources added.

JAL will reduce or suspend flights on five routes to and from Aomori and four cities in Hokkaido, the sources said. ANA will take similar measures on four routes to and from Haneda in Tokyo, Kagoshima, Kochi and Matsuyama.(IHT/Asahi: January 19,2009)