New international services and the competitiveness of Tokyo International Airport

With the completion of Narita International Airport (Narita) in the Greater Tokyo Area, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) was practically downgraded to a domestic airport. It lost its position as a key traffic hub for domestic to international air transport in Japan. Now the Japanese government is trying to expand its international role again by the resumption of international air services at the airport. A route choice probability model is applied to show how Haneda’s hub competitive position in its connecting markets from Japan has changed since the resumption of these services.

The results reveal that Haneda’s market shares increased significantly in the markets between Japan and Asia-Oceania, between Japan and Europe and between Japan and North America. The dense domestic networks offered at Haneda appear to connect well with the newly started international flights to Asia-Oceania, Europe and North America. The competitive position of Haneda in the connecting markets from Japan is expected to increase towards 2013 when its international air networks will be expanded further.