British Airways has announced a new service to Osaka next summer as the airline is launching direct flights to Japan’s second largest city.
Starting March 31, 2019, the UK airline will operate a four-per-week service, with flights departing from Heathrow Terminal 5 and landing at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.
The new service to Osaka will depart from Heathrow at 14:20 hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays arriving at Kansai at 09:50 hours the following day. On return, the flight will depart Kansai at 11:30 hours of Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays reaching Heathrow at 15:50 hours. All times are local.
Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: ‘Our partners Japan Airlines and Finnair have demonstrated that Osaka is a hugely popular route with leisure and business travellers alike, so we are excited to launch direct flights from London, giving customers another gateway. Japan is a highly sought-after destination for British tourists and many of the country’s key attractions are within easy reach of Osaka. This new route will also open up more opportunities for companies to explore and build business in the region so we’re expecting this new service to be well received by our customers.’
Hideki Oshima, Japan Airlines’ Executive Officer International Relations and Alliances, said ‘We are extremely excited with the announcement of British Airways’ new route. Not only does it provide more choices and greater convenience for our passengers traveling between Japan and Europe, but it is also great news for the Kansai region. We look forward to serving our mutual customers through our code share service and contributing to the regional economy in Osaka.’
The route will be operated by one of British Airways’ newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with special return fares from £599 in World Traveller, £999 in World Traveller Plus and £2,499 in Club World available to book now on ba.com and jal.com.
With the new route, the number of daily flights between London and Japan offered as part of British Airways’ joint business with Japan Airlines will increase to 32 per week. British Airways is also adding four cities to its agreement with Japan Airlines, with the BA code being put on flights between Tokyo Haneda and Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Komatsu and Matsuyama. The airline’s Siberian Joint Business partner, Finnair, currently flies direct between Helsinki and Osaka with up to 10 direct services a week.
As part of its expansion plans, British Airways will launch 17 new routes across the globe this year including direct flights to Durban that start next month, the airline said.
