Qatar Airways has officially resumed services to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), bringing back daily connectivity to the hub. After three years, the carrier will now serve the Japanese capital twice daily, with more destinations in the country coming back too. Currently, Doha is connected to Tokyo Narita (NRT) once daily by Qatar.

Back in action

It's been a little over three years since Qatar Airways was forced to shutter operations to Tokyo Haneda. When it returned, it chose the better-connected, but distant, Narita International Airport. With strict border controls forcing Qatar to scrap plans quickly in 2020, the carrier returned to Haneda on June 1st, with seven weekly flights. This doubles capacity to Tokyo and comes as the country dropped all of its COVID requirements last month, opening just ahead of the summer.

QR812/813 will be operated every day by the Airbus A350-900, which Qatar flies with 36 QSuite business class seats and 247 in economy. Neighboring NRT is served by the A350-1000, meaning there is plenty of premium capacity on the routes. With 610 weekly seats on sale, Tokyo is an important part of Qatar's route map, despite being extremely competitive thanks to scores of direct routes.

Qatar hosted the World Cup last year and as the new airline sponsor of Formula 1 will see the Qatar Grand Prix return this winter. With a strong fan base in Japan, the airline is hoping to stimulate point-to-point traffic as well as its connections to 160 destinations. In a statement, CEO Akbar Al Baker said,

“The resumption of the Tokyo Haneda-Doha service follows our major network expansion announced at ITB Berlin 2023, which will see an extra 655 weekly flights in 2023 compared to 2022. Japan remains a significant market for Qatar Airways and its passengers, and in addition to Haneda, the airline will soon be resuming flights to Osaka this year.”

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The flights will operate on the following daily schedule:

• QR812: Leaves Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) at 06:30 and lands in Tokyo Haneda (HND) at 23:30 (10 hours)
• QR813: Leaves HND at 01:00 and arrives in DOH at 06:30 (9.5 hours).

Still growing

For Qatar Airways the last 12 months have been full of highs and lows. As the flag carrier for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it was more prominent than ever, flying millions of travelers over the year to visit the small country. However, it was also struggling with capacity as a two-year-long standoff with Airbus over A350 paint chipping reached the courts. Fast forward to today and the airline is on much more stable footing.

The A350 dispute has been resolved, the network is expanding, and a COVID-restriction-free summer is finally here. Tokyo is one piece of the puzzle, with Osaka set to return in the coming months as well. Japan sees a strong mix of leisure and business travel, segments the airline wants to capitalize on as it eyes profitability once again this year.

What do you think about Qatar's return to Haneda and Osaka soon? Let us know in the comments!

• 

  Qatar Airways

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  QR/QTR

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Doha Hamad International Airport

  Year Founded:

  1993

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Akbar Al Baker

  Country:

  Qatar

• 

  Tokyo Haneda Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  HND/RJTT

  Country:

  Japan

  CEO:

  Isao Takashiro

  Passenger Count :

  442,573 (2020)

  Runways :

  16R/34L - 3,000m (9,843ft) | 16L/34R - 3,360m (11,024ft) | 04/22 - 2,500m (8,202ft) | 05/23 - 2,500m (8,202ft)

  Terminals:

  Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3