TokyoTomo Travel Guide

Kansai International Airport Co. released the results of tour competition that it sponsored with a view to spurring travel demand and promoting the usage of Kansai Airport during the airlines’ summertime operation. It selected 32 tours as the superior products out of 91 applied. The 32 tours consist of 25 overseas tours originating from Kansai Airport, five overseas tours starting from regional airports in Japan and leaving via Kansai Airport, and two domestic tours. Of those 32 products, the Visit World Campaign (VWC) Special Award was given to three tours planned by Hanshin Travel Service, Club Tourism, and H.I.S.

Two tours of the three that were chosen for VWC Special Award, namely, Club Tourism’s “Eight-day Circular Tour to Visit Three U.S. National Parks: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Arches” and H.I.S.’s “Five/Six-day Tour to Canadian Rockies to Commemorate Delta Air Lines’ Inauguration of Kansai/Seattle Route” are flown on Delta’s new service of Kansai/Seattle to be launched in coming June. The tour of H.I.S. got high marks because it spotlighted the draw of Columbia Ice Field to support Delta’s sustained operation.

Hanshin’s “10-day Tour to Unbeknown Auvergne and World Heritages in France” offers an opportunity to come into contact with nature of Auvergne and the medieval Romanesque churches in the region. It caught attention in that the tour has clear-cut travel themes closely associated with one of the prioritized destination in VWC program.

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.

Japan Airlines (JAL) and Dubai-based Emirates Airline (EK) reached an agreement to expand their code share partnership between Japan and Dubai. JAL will start placing its “JL” flight indicator on EK-operated flights between Tokyo (Narita) and Dubai from March 28, 2010, when EK will launch the new direct service to Narita, flying five times a week.

Both airlines have been offering code share services on the Osaka (Kansai) = Dubai route since 2002. By further strengthening their partnership through the new connection between Tokyo and Dubai, both airlines can build a more extensive network to increase customer convenience and better facilitate business and tourist travel to the Middle East from Japan.

In addition to the code share flights, JAL and EK also linked their frequent flyer programs (FFP) in October 2002, enabling members of the JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) and Emirates’ Skywards FFP to earn miles on each other’s flights.

Reservations and ticket purchase for the new code share service will commence on February 25.

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Air Busan (BX) is starting a daily flight between Kansai and Busan from 26th April 2010. The government approval has been applied and it is under way. Asiana (OZ), Busan Metropolitan City, and Busan regional economic group have gathered together and established BX in 2007.

According to BX website, it operates 18 daily flights between Busan and Gimpo, and developed “3050 Shuttle Service” which means the shuttle flights operate out of Gimpo at 30 minutes every hour and from Busan 50 minutes every hour. The market share within the domestic routes has reached 42%.　Currently BX holds 6 Boeing B737 series and is planning to start operating flights between Fukuoka and Busan from 29th March, before they launch flights from Kansai.

Boeing B737-400 will be introduced on the Kansai/Busan route, and the aircraft will be operated in a mono-class with 162 economy seat configuration. The airline has opened an office in Fukuoka, and a reservation centre will be opened on 23rd February 2010.

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.