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American Airlines closing Tokyo Admirals Club with shift to Haneda

Nov. 15, 2019
3 min read
JAL lounge sakura
American Airlines closing Tokyo Admirals Club with shift to Haneda
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American Airlines will close its premium lounge at Tokyo Narita International Airport in March as it moves the majority of its flights to the Japanese capital to the close-in Haneda International Airport.

The Admirals Club at Narita (NRT) will close in late March with no new lounge planned at Haneda (HND), American said in an employee newsletter on Friday. First- and business-class passengers, elite frequent fliers with Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire status, and Admirals Club members will have access to Japan Airlines' Sakura lounges at both airports.

JAL offers Sakura lounges to international passengers at both Haneda and Narita airports, its website shows. JAL also offers First Class lounges at both airports.

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American will continue to employ Premium Guest Services staff to serve customers in Tokyo, the airline said.

American will offer three daily flights to Haneda beginning in March. The Oneworld Alliance carrier will launch a daily service to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), and a second daily service to Los Angeles (LAX) on March 29.

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At the same time, American will reduce its operation at Narita to just one flight a day from DFW. The Admirals Club closure is a result of this reduced schedule, the airline said.

Related: The Best Credit Cards for Airline Lounge Access

Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines will also add service to Haneda in March. Delta's expanded schedule includes daily flights to Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Honolulu (HNL), Portland (PDX) in Oregon, and Seattle (SEA) that begin on March 28. The airline will end service to Narita the same day, but plans to open a new 9,000 square foot Sky Club at Haneda to serve premium passengers.

Hawaiian will add an additional flight between Haneda and Honolulu, and United new service to Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Los Angeles, Newark (EWR) and Washington Dulles (IAD). The latter will end service between Narita and both Chicago and Washington with the new flights.

American and JAL have a joint venture which allows them to operate as essentially a single carrier between Japan and the U.S.

Related: American's new Tokyo schedule includes more premium seats

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