Air Travel: Delta’s Haneda Expansion, AA Into Africa

It’s been a busy week for flights to Asia and Africa.

Delta announced that it received final approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation for its new flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. As a result, starting in March 2020, it will transfer its operations from Tokyo – Narita to Haneda, making it the largest U.S. carrier serving Haneda. The airline will offer seven daily flights between Haneda and Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Honolulu, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Portland, OR. Also that month, the airline will suspend its service between Narita and Manila and launch new daily service between Seoul and Manila, a move Delta says will offer better transpacific connectivity via its Seoul hub with its joint venture partner Korean Air. Delta will also suspend Narita – Singapore service starting September 22, 2019, offering service to the destination via Seoul with Korean Air instead. 

American Airlines, meanwhile, announced plans to launch its first flights to Africa. The airline, which made the announcement as part of the release of its summer 2020 international schedule, will begin operating flights from Philadelphia to Casablanca, Morocco, starting June 4, 2020; it will offer further connections into Africa via Royal Air Maroc, which is set to join the oneworld alliance in January. The 2020 summer schedule also includes new flights from Dallas – Fort Worth to Tel Aviv, Israel, starting September 9; from Chicago O’Hare to Krakow, Poland, and Budapest, Hungary, starting May 7; and from O’Hare to Prague, Czech Republic, starting May 8. 

Also in Africa, South African Airways (SAA) announced plans to increase frequency on its new route between Washington, DC, and Accra, Ghana, to daily nonstop service starting September 5, making it the only carrier offering daily nonstop service between the United States and Ghana. Further connections from the U.S. and Canada are available on its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines, via Washington – Dulles. 

Finally, SWISS announced plans to add Washington, DC, and Osaka, Japan, to its network with a pair of new nonstop flights from Zurich. Flights to Washington, DC, will begin March 29, 2020, while flights to Osaka will begin March 1, 2020. 

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