Virgin Australia has introduced a new international route with daily return flights connecting Cairns to Tokyo, Haneda starting June 28, 2023. The highly anticipated route, operating for the first time, is being launched in partnership with the Queensland Government and Cairns Airport through the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund.
Thrilled to announce the year-round Cairns- Haneda service, Jayne Hrdlicka, Group Chief Executive Officer Virgin Australia, said: “We are excited to offer our guests access directly into and out of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, on new fuel-efficient aircraft. Virgin Australia is a proud Queensland company and we are delighted to add over 2,000 seats between these iconic destinations every week which means more value and choice for Australians wanting to travel to Japan.”
Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer, Richard Barker, said: “Virgin Australia’s direct flights from Haneda will significantly boost the number of Japanese tourists visiting Tropical North Queensland. Today’s announcement is a huge development for our region’s tourism industry and the economy as we continue our post-COVID recovery. It is also further evidence that long-range, narrow-body aircraft such as the 737-8 are game changers for our region, bringing destinations such as Japan closer with more cost-effective and fuel-efficient operations.”
To further bolster flight access between Australia and Japan, Virgin Australia will strengthen its strategic partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA) creating greater value and choice for the airline’s customers.
The partnership will not only see Virgin Australia and ANA provide members of the airline’s Velocity and ANA Mileage Club frequent flyer programs reciprocal loyalty benefits throughout 2023 and beyond when traveling on each carrier but greater codeshare flight access between the countries.
ANA EVP of Alliances & International Affairs, Junichiro Miyagawa, said: “As a strategic and significant partner to ANA, we are excited for Virgin Australia's inaugural flight to Haneda that enhances our commercial partnership. We are delighted to welcome passengers with the mutual goal of both airlines serving as the bridge between Australia and Japan with the highest levels of customer service and offering unique customer experiences in the two countries."
Interestingly the distance between Cairns and Haneda is 5,855km making this flight world's fourth-longest route to be covered by MAX aircraft.