Air India, announced a significant change to its non-stop services between Delhi and Tokyo. Beginning 31 March 2025, Air India will operate its 4x weekly flights from Delhi to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND), replacing its existing services to Narita International Airport (NRT), to provide passengers faster and more affordable access to central Tokyo.
Complementing the shift to Tokyo Haneda, Air India also announced an expanded codeshare agreement with its Star Alliance partner, All Nippon Airways (ANA), to provide Air India guests convenient onward connections from Tokyo Haneda to 6 other major cities in Japan. This builds on Air India’s existing codeshare and interline agreements with ANA.
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Faster access to downtown Tokyo
Air India’s strategic transition to Haneda Airport, located 18 km from downtown Tokyo, cuts travel time to Tokyo Station from nearly one hour by road (70 km from Narita) to approximately 30 minutes. This not only saves valuable time for passengers but also offers more cost-effective transportation options, enhancing the overall journey experience.
“Moving our flights to Haneda Airport is a significant advantage for our guests – it brings them much closer to the centre of Tokyo. With this shift, we are not only connecting two vibrant capitals more effectively but also helping boost trade and tourism between India and Japan”, said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.
Expanded codeshare with All Nippon Airways
Subject to due regulatory approvals, beginning 01 April 2025, Air India will place its ‘AI’ designator code on ANA’s flights between Tokyo Haneda and 6 other cities in Japan: Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka, and Sapporo. This will allow Air India guests to travel to any of these destinations on a single ticket, with their baggage checked through the entire journey.
Reciprocally, ANA will place its ‘NH’ designator code on Air India’s flight between Delhi and Tokyo Haneda, Delhi and Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune, enabling their customers seamless access to Air India’s robust domestic India network.
Air India and ANA first signed a codeshare agreement in April last year, which allowed Air India to codeshare on ANA’s Tokyo Haneda-Delhi and Tokyo-Narita-Mumbai flights, and ANA to codeshare on Air India’s Delhi-Tokyo flights.
Commenting on the codeshare expansion, Nipun Aggarwal added, “Our deepened partnership with ANA opens up Japan like never before for our guests. By providing easy access for our guests to ANA’s domestic Japan network, combined with ANA’s reach into Air India’s extensive Indian network, we’re creating a stronger bridge between our two nations—making travel simpler and truly rewarding for our common guests.”
“To promote increased exchange between Japan and India, ANA is expanding its codeshare partnership with Star Alliance partner Air India to enhance its network,” said ANA’s Executive Vice President of Alliances and International Affairs, Katsuya Goto. “This expansion, with a focus on the increased codeshare options from Delhi to six destinations within India, will provide customers with more opportunities and seamless connections, delivering a satisfying experience for premium customers in particular. This is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to provide a superior travel experience for customers flying between Japan and India.”
Passengers of both airlines flying on codeshare flights will enjoy premium services such as lounge access and priority boarding that Star Alliance offers to its premium members.
Growing tourism to Japan
According to Japan National Tourism Organization, 233,000 Indians visited Japan between January and December 2024, a 40% increase from the previous year, underscoring Japan’s growing appeal as a travel destination for Indian tourists.
Schedule of Air India flights between Delhi and Tokyo Haneda
- AI358: Departs Delhi (DEL) at 2020 Hrs, arrives next day at Tokyo Haneda (HND) at 0755 Hrs – operates Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
- AI357: Departs Tokyo Haneda (HND) at 11:50, arrives at Delhi (DEL) at 17:25 – operates Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays
Air India’s Delhi-Tokyo Haneda flights will continue to be operated with Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 18 Business Class flatbeds and 238 spacious Economy seats. The flights enable travellers to take seamless connections to/from several domestic Indian destinations as well as international routes across Asia and Europe.
The timings to Haneda are different than those to Narita which it currently operates and opens up more connections to Europe with the new bank of flights which Air India is building
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