Japan Airlines and Japan Travel Bureau have decided to jointly
operate a series of charter flights offering package tours to Europe in summer and autumn 2007.The joint
charter tour programme is the latest development in a comprehensive business tie-up agreement between JAL
and JTB, who have been cooperating to create new demand for overseas travel from various parts of Japan,
develop new overseas destinations and increase demand for travel to Japan from overseas.
To meet tourism demand to various Europe regions by senior Japanese travelers, including the baby-boomer
generation now starting to retire, 31 direct charter flights will be operated from June to September 2007 from
regional airports in Japan to Switzerland and Italy, and from July to October from Narita, Nagoya, Osaka and
*censored*uoka to Central European cities in Croatia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Charter flights to Switzerland and Italy will depart from Sapporo, Hakodate, Sendai, Niigata, Hiroshima,
Kita-Kyushu, *censored*uoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima directly to the destinations and thus
eliminate the need for domestic air connections in Japan. Some flights will be operated as open-jaw, a form of
operation in which different airports are used for the outbound arrival destination and inbound departure point.
This will enable travelers to take a more varied vacation itinerary, and thus increase their convenience and
enjoyment.
Direct JAL charter flights to Croatia, which has been gaining popularity as a tourist destination, will be
operated for the first time from Japan. Three round trips are planned from Narita in August and September. The
charter flights will fly direct between Narita and Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and Dubrovnik, a World Heritage
city facing the Adriatic Sea. The ground tour will cross Croatia.
The charter flights from Narita, Osaka, Nagoya and *censored*uoka to Budapest (Hungary) and Prague (Czech
Republic) will be open jaw operations that fly alternatively to the two cities, in consideration of the itinerary for
an excursion tour of the Central European region between the two cities. A total of 14 round trips are planned
between July and October.
JAL and JTB will continue to share and utilize the merits of both companies, and develop and increase
tourism demand by providing attractive travel products meeting customer needs.
——-