I'm sure that intercontinental airlines would move all operations from NRT to HND if there were no restrictions on operating hours. As it is I believe that intercontinental flights cannot operate between 0630 & 2230 local (happy to be corrected if wrong). The current BA schedule is:

LHR 0805 X23
HND 0455 X34

HND 0625 X34
LHR 1000 X34

This might work for First/Club the idea being that you arrive at 0455 after a night in your sleeper seat ready for a days work and after a long days work. I would certainly prefer NRT for a leisure trip. Yes its in the middle of nowhere but at least the times are civilised.

Airlines would generally prefer a night flight and JL operate a codeshare with AF to the following schedule:

HND 0130
CDG 0620

CDG 1100
HND 0655


BA could utilise the slot currently used by BA212 to give the following schedule:

LHR 0935
HND 0625

HND 0140
LHR 0515.

This would mean a plane on the ground for 19 hours although with 747s in the Nevada desert this might not be a problem - except that the 747 may be too large an aircraft.

Alternatively JL could operate the route and BA increase frequencies to NRT if they are given authority to codeshare.

When I first moved down in 2005 LHR had :

BA005 / 006 NRT B744
BA007 / 008 NRT B744
JL401 / 402 NRT B744
JL403 / 404 NRT B744
JL421 / 422 OSA B744?

BA cancelled the second NRT for a while and re-instated the service to Haneda as 5 per week. JAL now only operates a single NRT, so Japan is still well down over the period.

but i think after the joint venture between BA and JL, JL might install back the second NRT/HND flight along with one KIX flight....

The timing of the Haneda longhaul "window" makes scheduling of flights from the UK particularly difficult.

BA currently operates close to the end of the window, but still departs from Heathrow too early for feeder connections from elsewhere. Departure from Haneda is also uncomfortably early, but not quite early enough to make it worth saving a night in a hotel. Moving to early in the window might make it more user-friendly at the Tokyo end, but would involve a night departure from London.

Peter47's idea of a plane on the ground at Haneda all day could ease the timing problems, but even retrieving a 747 from the desert might not make it economic.

Another alternative, which also has drawbacks, would be to introduce an intermediate stop in somewhere like Seoul. This would probably permit an evening departure from London, arriving at Inchon (Gimpo would be better for Korean domestic connections, but is probably not acceptable to the Korean authorities) in time for a late eveing departure to get in early in the Haneda window. Return might be possible early enough to save that night's hotel in Tokyo and still arrive back in Seoul late enough to avoid any night curfews.

Obvious disadvantages are that the flight to Tokyo would no longer be non-stop and picking up passengers for the Seoul-Tokyo and return legs might difficult both practically and legally. However such a routing would introduce a British presence onto a route where there is none. It would also increase One World presence in an area currently well-served by Sky Team and *Alliance, but only by Finnair from One World.

I think Cathay Pacific might raise an eyebrow about this - always plenty of pax on Europe to Hong Kong flights heading on there.

Tokyo has the issue seen elsewhere - a "new" airport so far from the urban area it purports to servce that no airline would use it unless forced. A generation or so later, the restrictions come off and carriers desert overnight, or as much as they are permitted, back to the old place.

Montreal was a classic for this (Mirabel now closed) and Prestwick the same for an example nearer home. Boris Island advocates please note.

Really

Does anyone know why it is not operating from 25th June through until 15th July??

Well it doesn't seem to be anything to do with the 5 rings or the bag of leather being kicked around eastern Europe a few weeks beforehand.

That is (a) assuming Boris Island happens and (b) assuming that in order for it to happen, LHR closes. East to see why BA don't want it.

WHBM

I don't know how I forgot Cathay - I used them between Hong Kong and Seoul late last year. But there were only three of us off my BA flight and two of us plus a family of five transferring to BA on the way home. I know the numbers because both connections turned out to be much tighter than planned and we were escorted as a group from one flight to the next.

77W JFK days ?
 

Hi all, I'm wondering does anybody know the days on which BA will fly the 77W to JFK this Summer? Everywhere I look says that it will operate BA179/182 x 4 weekly but no info about which four days it is :S

Any help appreciated! :)

From what I gather the 77W operates the BA179/BA182 Daily except day 4, so not on Thursdays...

I was interested to note on my itinerary from BA that my flight next week BR 871 from Taipei to Hong Kong is to be operated by Brymon Airways.

Recycled IATA airline code? Like Flybe (BE) using the old British European Airways (BE) IATA code.

Now allocated to EVA Airways.

SFS

Facepalm time......
 

BR was British Caledonian Airways, formerly British United pre merger with Caledonian Airways (Prestwick). Brymon was BC, though both were bought by BA.

I know all of the above airline codes, just found it slightly amusing that BA think BR is Brymon thats all

Sure, especially as it's been EVA's IATA code since they started more than 20 years ago, in fact well before BA even bought up Brymon.

Incidentally, EVA is initals, pronounced separately (like TWA) and not as a word, although many seem to say it like "Ever". I never heard TWA called "Twar" though.

Really? Odd that given their callsign is "EVA", pronounced "eevah"! Learn something every day.

Just a thought will BA ever restart flights from MAN?

BA + MAN?

If history is anything to go by = No!

Well always possible if we get stuck with BMI Regional. Never rule anything out ?