Responding to the rising demand for business and leisure travel between Guam and Japan, United Airlines today announced it is resuming its twice-daily Boeing 777 service between Guam and Japan beginning Oct. 28, 2018 through March 30, 2019. The use of larger aircraft increases the number of seats offered between the two countries by 80 percent, compared to the previously scheduled smaller aircraft.
United cut service between Guam and Japan, earlier this year, citing low travel demand, which industry stakeholders attributed to the tension brought about by North Korea's threats to launch a missile attack on Guam last year.
Beginning October 28, United will resume operating Boeing 777-200 aircraft on two of its three daily flights between Guam and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. The return of United’s widebody aircraft offers customers nearly 900 daily seats each way between Tokyo and Guam.
“Guam and Tokyo are important cities for United Airlines and we remain committed to supporting our customers and employees in these regions.” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network. “In the last few months, we have noticed the market begin to recover and, in response, we made the decision to resume widebody service between Guam and Tokyo to meet this rising demand.”
Sam Shinohara, United’s managing director of Asia/Pacific Airport Operations said, “We are pleased to welcome back the B777s to the Guam-Tokyo route. This is a direct reflection of the increase in demand for travel to Guam and our valuable relationships with many business partners such as the Guam Visitors Bureau and major travel agency partners in Japan. The more than 60,000 additional seats not only helps meet the inbound demand from Japan, but also offers our Guam customers with more options when traveling to Tokyo, the mainland U.S. and beyond.”
Additionally, in response to the increased demand from those traveling out of Japan to Guam for the 2018 summer peak season, United plans to operate 20 additional flights beginning Aug. 2 through Aug.27, 2018 – 13 from Tokyo/Narita and seven from Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport.
Nathan Denight, president and CEO of the Guam Visitors Bureau, said the reinstatement of the United B777 service between Tokyo and Guam, significantly increases seat capacity from Japan daily.
"We have been working very closely with the United team and our travel partners in Japan to stabilize the market and increase the demand for travel to Guam," Denight said in a statement. "These hard earned efforts are paying off. We thank United for reacting to the demand quickly. We’ve been able to count on United as a strong tourism partner for these past 50 years. They understand the importance of working with Guam stakeholders for the benefit of the local economy."