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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0030.PDF
Old and new—ANA flies 19 YS-Us and 15 737-200s the early 1970s, in a series of cabinet and ministry decisions, it was formalised into the aviation constitution. Under these rules (which also regulate international services), JAL is allowed to operate on only 13 domestic trunk routes which link five major cities scattered north-south along the Japanese archipelago; Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Naha (Okinawa), and Sapporo. JAL was awarded these feeder routes upon its formation in 1951, to enable it to challenge more successfully in the international market. ANA, easily Japan's largest carrier, with 55 per cent of passengers, operates on the trunk routes and dozens of "local" routes, many of which are monopolies with high revenues. TDA flies almost exclusively on local routes, generally the thinner ones, plus a handful of trunk services. In 1984/85 the three airlines' domestic networks gener ated about $2,700 million revenue, with annual growth forecast (before the crash of the 747SR) at 5-6 per cent. Despite the size of the market there are factors which hinder its efficiency, notably a serious lack of capacity at some major airports. Slot restrictions have spawned Japan's highly distinctive indus try. Nowhere else do so many widebody aircraft (747s, DC-10s, TriStars, A300s, and 767s), fly so often on such short sectors. At the same time some potentially prosperous local routes must be operated with Japan's turboprop workhorse, the 64-seat YS-11, because of operational and noise restrictions on jet-powered aircraft. The result is sobering; of about 150 domestic routes operated by the three giants only 57 are profitable. Restrictions bite hardest at Osaka, Japan's second city, where the airport is open only 14hr per day (0700-2100) with a maximum of 200 daily jet movements allowed. Tokyo Haneda is also straining its capacity, while growth at Tokyo's Narita International (which currently has only two domestic departures daily) is being hampered by fierce local opposition to its "second phase" development. The MoT and the airlines hope that pressures will ease by the mid 1990s. A second runway built on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay should be operational at Haneda by 1988, and plans have been drawn up for a new 24hr offshore airport to be built in Osaka Bay, opening in 1993. "It is with this sort of increase in capac ity in the pipeline that we decided to review the structure of the industry," says Naoguki Fukuuchi, deputy director in the aviation industry department. He adds that, by making the domestic indus try more competitive, "we hope that services will improve and to promote more efficient corporate management". JAL has been the most bullish of the big three in pushing for more competition domestically. With the pressure on it to surrender its international monopoly, the flag-carrier has looked inward in an attempt to grab a more lucrative slice of Domestic market shares 1 |SWL 100 80 60 40 U r—— '- nm~~~—-j '"I 1973 74 75 76 " ANA JAL ( ry p *~~ .— •£._.. ^~~~- NKA TDA i~~~ i IMMHil 1 i 1 ' 1 I i 1 1 1 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 1984 "": • .•:•: • I -: 1 Toa Domestic Airlines VrWraAetsa Asahikawao ^~^\/! Sapporo^.—\ -4$$$!ro y^J^^Tiw \ \Obit¥ro\ / j P H WakocteteVJ \ \ \ ^—/—z^^^—rP-% rill jr */#" I / /"y<C /YamagataVng^dLif j I J /sT ^^[l/yyf^^^^// ]/// / / / I/ /j-jOki \ j/^MatsyfftotoNXX/ Ay/yy S NagasakiV^f&J^iXJi^akamatei^^J /y/// / / / / a lanegashima -~—-—y —-"" V \ V ^Amamioshima \ V Tokunoshima V Okinoerabu ))Yoronjima FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 4 January 19S6
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