TokyoTomo Travel Guide

According to Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) at Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the public comments heard during the period from September 16 to October 8 on easing of the charter flight restrictions showed that there are many approving and favorable opinions. JCAB plans to apply its new rules to charter flight applications to be filed from the end of October. The public comments heard also include many favorable opinions expecting a further relaxation of the imposed rules and regulations. After summing up the findings, Civil Aviation Bureau is to issue instructions to those concerned by around October 20 and, at the same time, will make the results available to the public.

Easing the charter flight restrictions this time responds to the new growth strategy endorsed by the government this past June, whereby the Open-Sky aviation agreement was implemented calling for the liberalization of rules and regulations including the Tokyo metropolitan airports. Specifically, JCAB will review and uplift the current restrictions imposed on individual traffic on charter flights. Consequently, even between Japan and the countries and regions where the aviation liberalization is not realized yet, the current rules and regulations will be eased to allow individual traffic to be sold up to 50 percent of aircraft capacity whether or not the cities concerned are considered as the designated points served by the scheduled carriers as previously defined.

With respect to charter flights operating from Haneda Airport using the late-night and early morning take-off and landing slots, individual traffic is accepted without any sales limitations if the Open-Skies aviation agreement exists between the two countries concerned. Where the Open-Skies agreement does not exist, the individual traffic will be accepted only up to 50 percent of aircraft seat capacity. As for charter flights to be operated out of Haneda during daytime, CAB will authorize such charter flights only for the sector served during daytime by the scheduled flights with individual traffic allowed up to 50 percent of aircraft seat capacity.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

The Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) takes steps to ease restrictions on international air fare regulations. It is supposed to introduce price-cap system so that airlines can establish new fares or modify fare levels any time in response to demand fluctuation. Carriers have been obliged so far to request an approval every time to make any changes to their published fares other than Inclusive Tour (IT) fares; however, after the relaxation, they become able to amend them freely within the extent of the authorized upper limits. As to private fares such as corporate preferential tariffs for major business accounts, they do not need any prior consent of MLIT so far as their fare levels do not exceed such upper limits.

However, MLIT makes it mandatory in any case for airlines to provide all the fare data in advance by entering them into the ministry’s online fare monitoring files or by notifying them by fax or e-mail, because the ministry is in a position to keep track of actual market prices from the standpoint of consumer protectionism. Moreover, in the proposed price-cap system, MLIT accepts the request of maximum price limits together with applicable conditions, but it cautions that airlines must submit application for any change of such conditions even if the maximum price limits are kept unaltered. This is because such procedures will prevent a situation from happening in which consumers get tickets at a higher price for lax rules and at a lower price for rigid rules, whereby fair competition is hampered.

What has brought about this change in the MLIT’s attitude is a decision expressed in the New Growth Strategy which was presented to the cabinet meeting in June this year – the decision to let the international air fares be left with market demand. Further, the “Three-step Economic Measures for Achieving the Goals of New Growth Strategy,” approved by the cabinet meeting in September, stipulates lenient regulation of international air fare systems to pave the way for entries of low cost carriers (LCC). JCAB, after asking for public comments on this matter until October 12, is going to validate the applications filed on and after October 31 this year.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) plans to substantially relax the rules and regulations which have been imposed on the operations of international charter flights from Japan. In line with implementation of the drastic open skies policy including the Tokyo metropolitan airports as part of the new growth strategy endorsed by the Cabinet in the month of June this year, Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) is due to review the current rules and regulations of the international charter flight operations. During the period from September 16 to October 8 this year, Civil Aviation Bureau is asking for the public comments on the aviation liberalization with an aim to apply the new charter flight rules and regulations effective from October 31, the day from which the winter schedule starts with the internationalization of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

With respect to passenger charter flights, Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) will relax the rules and regulations imposed on individual traffic. Up until now, in operating international charter flights from Japan to the countries and regions where the aviation liberalization has not yet been realized, the respective aviation authorities have agreed to individual traffic up to 50 percent of the total salable seats if the charter flight is operated between the two designated cities served by the scheduled carriers and, if that is not a case, individual traffic is not allowed for the charter flight. However, the new charter rules and regulations will allow for the individual traffic up to 50 percent of total salable seats, whether or not the cities concerned are considered as the designated points.

With regards to charter flights from Haneda, the restrictions have been imposed on all slots at Haneda Airport, thus limiting the individual traffic up to 50 percent regardless of the existing open skies policy. In this connection, Civil Aviation Bureau will also review the rules and regulations applicable at Haneda Airport. For charter flights to be operated during the late-night and early morning slots, individual traffic is accepted without any limitation if the open skies policy exists between the two countries. However, where the open skies agreements do not exist, the individual traffic is accepted only up to 50 percent of aircraft seat capacity. As for the day-time slots, however, CAB will temporarily allow charter flights only between the points operated by the respective scheduled carriers with individual traffic limited up to 50 percent.

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