LIFE AFTER SQ006 - Orient Aviation

c o u n t r y f o c u sJAMMED!Congestion puts Japan’s regional hub status under threatJapan’s great airport debate is set tointensify amid growing doubt plannedexpansion measures will bring relief toTokyo’s desperately congested runways orease concern that the country’s status as aregional aviation hub is under threat.Flashpoints are emerging over future U.S.airline access to the New Tokyo InternationalAirport at Narita and the internationalisationof the city’s domestic Haneda terminal.At the same time, construction of asecond runway at Osaka’s main gateway,Kansai, appears set to be delayed becauseof funding doubts, while there are calls fora wider, rational debate on national airportplanning.Narita’s long-awaited second runway isscheduled to open in May 2002, but sources atJapan’s major airlines said they are preparingto fight tooth and nail to prevent significantadditional capacity being granted to Americanoperators, which hold a third of Narita slots.They also are pushing to prevent wideruse of Haneda – recently opened to internationalcharter services and corporate flightsthrough the night – for offshore flights. Japanesecarriers want another runway built atHaneda, but they insist all additional capacityshould be reserved for domestic operations.Meanwhile, intense lobbying continuesover another sore point among airlines, thehigh aeronautical fees – three times the worldaverage – charged at Japanese airports.Overall, there is growing demand that thegovernment formulate a broad, nationwideairports plan. As reported in Orient Aviationin February, Japan Airlines (JAL) president,Isao Kaneko, who chairs the Scheduled AirlinesAssociation of Japan (SAAJ), has calledfor a “grand design” to replace the presentpiecemeal approach to airport expansion.Many airport decisions are mired in politicaldebate, which has led to the construction ofseveral expensive, but under-utilised facilitiesat regional centres. Decisions have often beentaken, then overturned, and then reversed.Osaka is a prime example. When the biginternational facility was built on a man-madeisland in Osaka Bay, off Kansai, the existingairport at Itami was supposed to have closed.It remains open and is busier than ever.Now, a third airport is being built in thesame area, at Kobe. At the same time, the governmentis undertaking a review of a projectto build a second runway at Kansai, apparentlyover concerns the high cost will burdenthe Kansai International Airport Company(KIAC) with too much debt. KIAC is strugglingfinancially after losing money for four straightyears and traffic volume through Kansaihas been lower than anticipated. When thesecond runway was approved in 1996, KIACThe take-off queue at Haneda Airport outside Tokyoprojected 150,000 arrivals and departures infiscal 2000. The Transport Ministry estimatesthe number was around 120,000.While Osaka has its own planning problems,the future of Tokyo’s airports remainsat the heart of Japan’s aviation problems.The country’s airlines have been upset foryears over the high access U.S. carriers haveto Narita. With up to 40 countries queued upfor slots, JAL’s Kaneko believes allocation ofadditional capacity when the second runwayopens next year should be heavily weightedaway from the U.S. He points out that at thehub facility of most nations local operatorshave up to 50% of slots. At Narita, Japaneseairlines have only 38%. Kaneko wants thatshare increased, with most of the remaindergoing to countries other than the U.S.The problem for Japan’s air authorities isthat sort of approach could likely spark a furiousrow with Washington at a time delicatenegotiations will be continuing about a newJapan-U.S. air accord.In reality, the second Narita runway doesnot solve many of the airport’s problems. It isshort, only 2,180 metres (7,500 ft), so it cannotbe used for long-haul jumbo jets. However,U.S. carriers will undoubtedly want slots forsmaller planes to operate onward flights fromTokyo to other Asian ports.Haneda presents another challenge.While JAL, All Nippon Airways and Japan AirSystem welcome the decision to open theairport between 11pm and 6am for internationalcharter flights – services to leisuredestinations such as Hawaii and Guam – theyare adamantly opposed to a wider internationalisationof the airport.That also will cause some diplomatic angstfor aviation officials. South Korean president,Kim Dae-jung, has asked Japan to move quicklyto allow scheduled international services; hewants clearance for shuttle flights betweenSeoul and Haneda as a means of relievingcongesting on the Seoul-Narita route.Japanese airlines argue Haneda is fully utiliseddomestically and that for the foreseeablefuture they will need any additional capacityfor domestic expansion.The SAAJ view is apart from Narita’s secondrunway, another runway is required atHaneda and a third airport must be planned. Itwants a full-scale debate involving professionals,not only to look at the airport expansionbut also to look at ways to solve the desperateneed for fast transport links between Narita,Haneda and any third facility, and on to Tokyocity. If Japan is to maintain its position as aprimary Asia-Pacific airline gateway, againsttough competition it has to move quickly toresolve these issues.If it fails, congestion at Tokyo will simplydeteriorate into the point of gridlock.38 | Orient Aviation | March 01