San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Japan Airlines (JAL) are celebrating 10 years of service to Asia. The airline’s first flight from SAN to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) was on December 2, 2012.
JAL began service with four flights weekly and grew to offer daily service up until the COVID-19 pandemic, when flights were suspended in March 2020. JAL was the first airline to resume trans-Oceanic service restoring San Diego – Tokyo service in March 2021 with three flights weekly. Since then, service has grown to four flights weekly. Currently, Japan Airlines operates the San Diego – Tokyo (Narita) nonstop flights with Boeing 787 aircraft in a two-class configuration including lie-flat seating in JAL Business Class and award-winning JAL SKY WIDER seats in economy. The airline has served more than 850,000 passengers at San Diego International Airport.
“Japan Airlines was the first Asian carrier to have the foresight to establish a second gateway in Southern California, one of the most densely populated areas with the largest U.S. – Asia passenger market,” said Kimberly Becker, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority President & CEO. “The JAL flight between San Diego and Tokyo Narita has made business, leisure, and military traffic immensely more efficient cutting hours off transit times. In addition, it makes San Diego more attractive to tourists generating a direct economic impact on our region. We sincerely appreciate Japan Airlines and its dedication to our community. We look forward to continuing our partnership for many more years to come.”
“It is truly exciting to reach this milestone and we are grateful to our customers and our numerous partners who have supported us throughout the past 10 years,” said Frank Fujii, Japan Airlines’ Vice President Southwestern Region. “We have been pleased to offer Asia-bound travelers the only nonstop transpacific service at San Diego and we look forward to continuing to serve customers with our warm Japanese hospitality.”
A gate-side celebration took place today where the Japan Airlines crew provided a welcome announcement and participated in commemorative photos. San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer Hampton Brown and Airport Authority Board Member Paul Robinson gave remarks on behalf of the airport.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SAN)
Owned and operated by San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (Airport Authority), San Diego International Airport (SAN) is one of the busiest single-runway commercial service airports in the world and the third-busiest airport in California. SAN contributes nearly $12 billion in economic activity for the region by connecting the world to San Diego and San Diego to the world. In November 2021, the Airport Authority began construction on the New T1 which includes the replacement of a new Terminal 1, improvements to the airfield, improved transportation connectivity to the airport, and a new administration building. The New T1 program’s total project budget is $3.4 billion and is estimated to create between 15,000 to 20,000 construction-related jobs. For more information about the New T1 please visit newt1.com. For more information about SAN please visit san.org.
About Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines (JAL) was founded in 1951 and became the first international airline in Japan. A member of the oneworld® Alliance, the airline now reaches 349 airports in 54 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners with a modern fleet of 230 aircraft. Awarded as one of the most punctual major international airlines and a certified 5-Star Airline by Skytrax, JAL is committed to providing customers with the highest levels of flight safety and quality in every aspect of its service, and aims to become one of the most preferred and valued airlines in the world.
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