Under its revised Tokyo schedule that will debut this spring, the Star Alliance carrier will serve Los Angeles (LAX) and Newark Liberty (EWR) from both Haneda (HND) and Tokyo Narita (NRT), the company said on Friday. But two other United hubs — Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Washington Dulles (IAD) — will lose Narita nonstops in favor of new Haneda flights.
Starting March 28, United will begin four new flights to Haneda that the US Department of Transportation awarded it last week. New daily flights from Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Los Angeles, Newark and Washington Dulles (IAD) begin that day and will complement United's existing Haneda flight from San Francisco (SFO).
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The new Haneda flights will be flown with a combination of Boeing 777-200s and 787-10s. The airline will operate the stretched Dreamliner on flights from Los Angeles, its second Asian destination for the -10 after Shanghai Pudong (PVG), where the aircraft begins flying in December, according to Diio by Cirium schedule data.
United's 787-10s are its only Dreamliners to date outfitted with both its new Polaris business-class seats and Premium Plus international-style premium-economy cabin. The aircraft have 44 lie-flat Polaris business-class seats, 21 Premium Plus seats, 54 Economy Plus seats and 199 economy seats.
Related: What It Was Like to Fly United’s 787-10 Dreamliner
In addition to the new Haneda service, United also will continue to offer nine daily flights from Narita. In addition to Los Angeles and Newark, United will serve the airport from Denver (DEN), Guam (GUM), Honolulu (HNL), Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and San Francisco. The airline will end Narita service from Chicago and Washington.
"Our new service to Haneda gives our customers more choice and connections to more than 65 destinations throughout Asia," Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network at United, said in a statement. "With service beginning next spring, we look forward to providing convenient service for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and beyond."
United is not the only airline preparing for new Haneda services. Delta Air Lines, which received five new flights to the city airport, plans to move its entire Tokyo operation to Haneda from Narita in March. The SkyTeam Alliance carrier will serve Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Honolulu, Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), Los Angeles, Portland (PDX) in Oregon, and Seattle (SEA) from the airport.
Delta will end service to Singapore from Narita in September and, next March, shift its Manila flight from Narita to Seoul Incheon (ICN).
Related: Sayonara, Narita: The Rise and Fall of Delta’s Tokyo Hub
Hawaiian Airlines, which received one additional Haneda flight from the DOT, plans to begin another Honolulu frequency next March.
American Airlines, which received two additional Haneda flights, has not said when it will begin its new flights to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Los Angeles.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, which are partners respectively of United and American, have also received 12 new flights for service to the US from Haneda. Neither carrier has said how many flights they received nor what destinations they plan to serve.
