JAL brings out new overnight Melbourne – Tokyo route
Japan Airlines and Qantas find a match made in heaven, in Melbourne.
A new Japan Airlines route from Melbourne to Tokyo is set to fill a much needed gap.
The new JAL flight JL774 takes off daily from Melbourne at 12.05am to arrive in Tokyo's Narita Airport at 9.05am the same calendar day, and returns during the day and early evening. Meanwhile, the day flights operated by Qantas take off from Melbourne at 10.30 am to arrive in Tokyo at 9.55pm, with the returns being overnight flights.
JAL's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is a fine choice for overnight legs, featuring 38 business class sky-suites with fully-flat 1.88 beds, as well as generous economy class seats for more comfortable shut-eye on the 10+ hour flights. Naturally JAL and Qantas are both points partners, letting you earn JAL Mileage points and Qantas Frequent Flyer points (as well as status credits and other flight rewards) regardless of which you're flying with. In short, these carriers and routes complement each other perfectly.
This valuable new route is another sign of Melbourne's potential as Australia's foremost travel hub, with Virgin Australia recently revealing its own brand new direct Melbourne - Hong Kong route, and Jetstar being the first low cost carrier to offer direct Melbourne - Ho Chi Minh City at the start of the year.
Melbourne Airport is doubtless well equipped for it, and Japan Airlines has reportedly been busy negotiating lounge access, catering services and all the other travel necessities in recent months, so travellers with both Qantas and JAL can expect the full range of amenities in both Melbourne and Narita.
Flights are set to commence on 2 September 2017, based on tickets available, despite the lack of a formal announcement so far. The Qantas route has seen extraordinary success so far, showing plenty of demand from both the Melbourne and Tokyo sides of the trip.
These new overnight flights, however, especially on 787-8 Dreamliner, are likely to find a special place in the hearts of business travellers on the Australian side.
Brush up those rewards cards, because this route is set to be big.
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