By Pacific Island Times News Staff
United Airlines will launch daily nonstop flights between Guam and Tokyo Haneda International Airport on May 1, expanding the service between the two destinations.
"These new flights build on United's 32 weekly flights between Guam and Tokyo-Narita, and tickets will go on sale tonight," United said in its announcement.
"As we grow our global network, we're always looking for opportunities to give our customers more choice and strengthen links between countries. This route – connecting Tokyo's most convenient airport with our unique Guam hub – accomplishes just that," said Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of Global Network Planning and Alliances.Â
The new service became available after the U.S. Department of Transportation approved United's petition to institute the Guam-Haneda route using the slot surrendered by Hawaiian Airlines.
The flight slot will be officially surrendered by Hawaiian on April 2.
"I appreciate the support of the Department of Transportation in recognizing the importance of this route to our customers and stakeholders," Quayle said.
United plans to operate a 737-800 on this route, which has room for 166 customers – including 16 business class seats.
The flight is scheduled to depart Guam at 7 p.m. local time and arrive at Haneda at 10 p.m. on the same day. On the return, the flight will depart Haneda at 11:55 p.m. and arrive in Guam at 4:45 a.m. the next day.
United is the largest airline in Guam, offering more than 87 weekly flights to 14 destinations. United has operated in Guam for more than 55 years and is the only airline today flying between Guam and Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya in Japan, as well as islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau.
With this addition, United will operate six daily flights from Haneda, with service to New York/Newark, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and now Guam. United also operates 10 daily flights to Tokyo's Narita airport, with service to New York/Newark, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Guam, and Saipan. United offers more seats from the United States to Tokyo than any other U.S. airline.Â
