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Air Talks with Hong Kong and Macau Conclude Agreement on Deregulation Excluding Metropolitan Airports Mid-February, 2008
Aviation officials of Japan and Macau met on January 29 and 30 in
Macau to exchange views on the deregulation, followed by the aviation
talks between Japan and Hong Kong held on January 31 in Hong Kong.
Both aviation talks came to an agreement on the deregulation, thereby
both Macau and Hong Kong will have no more restrictions on flight
routes and frequencies except for the Tokyo metropolitan airports.
During the air talks last October, Japan made a proposal to Hong
Kong on deregulation except for the metropolitan airports in Tokyo.
Although both parties nearly agreed on the deregulation in principle,
they failed to reach a final agreement on transport capacity to/ from
Tokyo's Narita.
Both parties this time are said to have concluded the air talks
without any further difficulties. The number of aircraft movements at
Narita, as both Japan and Hong Kong agreed, is limited to maximum 108
per week, passenger or cargo flights, which is equal to the number of
aircraft movements at Hong Kong.
Following the last air talks between Japan and Hong Kong,
Thailand came to an agreement with Japan on the deregulation and,
further more, Macau concluded an agreement with Japan on the previous
day when the air talks were due between Hong Kong and Japan. These
two previous agreements with Thailand and Macau may have encouraged
Hong Kong to conclude the air talks without further delay.
In the light of the deregulation, Tadakazu Inagaki, Chief
Representative Japan, Hong Kong Express Airways Limited (UO),
announced its plan to operate 2 weekly scheduled service between Hong
Kong and Okinawa starting from April. Last year, the airline operated
96 charter flights to Okinawa which mostly originated from Hong Kong.
Inagaki was very enthusiastic about the scheduled service,
saying, "With the scheduled service, we want to encourage local
travel agents to attract outbound traffic from Okinawa." He also
revealed that the airline is looking into plans to fly to Kagoshima,
Okayama and Nagoya in addition to the current service to Okinawa. "We
would first like to start with 2 weekly flights and then gradually
increase the frequency depending on traffic development," he
indicated.
Asked to comment on the cancelled charter flight from Okayama, he
said, "We have explained to the local travel agents about the reasons
for the cancellation which, I think, have been accepted." It is under
control, added Inagaki.
Stephen S. Y.Wong, Marketing & Sales Manager, Japan, Cathay
Pacific Airways Limited, commented, "We have a long-standing wish to
operate into Haneda. Presently, Cathay Pacific and Dragon air are
operating a weekly total of 101 flights to Japan and we are willing
to look into possibility of starting service to Haneda whenever we
see the market demand."
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