Japanese flag carrier Japan Airlines Ltd (JAL) will fly from Bengaluru to Tokyo non-stop from 2020, it said on Wednesday. The announcement comes on the back of a proposal by another Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) to introduce direct flight services from Chennai to Tokyo later this year.
Announcing the Bengaluru-Tokyo non-stop flight, JAL said in a statement, "The new non-stop service between Tokyo and Bengaluru will be flagged off during the summer of 2020."
Meanwhile, addressing the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2019 in Chennai on Wednesday, Japan Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu claimed that a direct flight from Chennai to Tokyo would be introduced in the winter of 2019.
JAL, which currently has direct flights to Tokyo from New Delhi, also announced that it will operate flights on the Bengaluru-Tokyo route every day. A Boeing 787-8 will be operated on the nine-hour long route.
"The launch of this route will provide travellers from North America a new option when travelling to the south of India," JAL said in a statement.
Both JAL and ANA said that connecting Tokyo with the two south Indian cities will help in contributing to the economic development of both countries as there are more than 1,400 Japanese companies that have a base in India.
"With this development, not only will tourism flourish in Karnataka and Japan, but also many new businesses will be established, thereby creating lots of new opportunities. The service will also help travellers flying to US cities," saidthe Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru, Takayuki Kitagawa.
With IANS inputs