Northwest Airlines to Suspend Non Stop New York-Tokyo service

Northwest Airlines is to indefinitely suspend its daily nonstop service from New York’s JFK Airport to Tokyo’s Narita Airport due to the record-high cost of jet fuel.

“Northwest remains firmly committed to its Narita hub, an integral part of our global route network, and to serving travelers in the New York-Tokyo market,” said Phil Haan, executive vice president of international, alliances and information technology and chairman of NWA Cargo. “Unfortunately, the record-high cost of fuel, a challenge facing the entire airline industry, is severely affecting the financial viability of some routes and forcing us to make some difficult decisions.”

Northwest’s nonstop New York–Tokyo service will be discontinued beginning 2 October, however the airline will continue to offer single connecting service from New York area airports to Tokyo through its Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul hubs.

During the month of August, the available seat miles (ASMs) flown between New York-JFK Airport and Tokyo-Narita Airport accounted for approximately 2% of Northwest's system ASMs and 8% of its Pacific ASMs.

The Boeing 747-400 aircraft dedicated to the New York-Tokyo flight will be redeployed to operate Northwest’s Los Angeles-Tokyo service.

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