JAL to Fly Doggy Charter Flight in January

Japan Airlines to Fly Cabin Dog-Allowing Charter Flight in Domestic Route

December 9,2016,Tokyo

Japanese wesite Response reported that Japan Airlines  to  offer special charter flight to allow dog keepers to bring their pets to flight cabin in collaboration with Aeon Pet, a nationwide chain of  pet speciality shops.

Called ‘JET Kagoshima with Your Dog,’ this charter flight is a part of three-day package tour from Tokyo to Kagoshima, a southern city in Kyushu.  

The tourists of this package tour can take their dogs from their home until they return home including flight time in cabin of the charter flight.

Aeon Pet will dispatch its own veterinarian doctor to this package tour for entire journey as its support to lucky customers.

The tour will start on January 27, 2017 until 29th using Boeing 737-800 with 165 seat configuration and the flight number will be JAL111 for both legs. One-one-one sounds barking of a dog for Japanese people.

　　

JAL Answers Customer Inquiry by IBM Watson

Japan Airlines Offers Advice to Baby-accompanying Passengers by ‘Watson’

December 7，2016　

http://response.jp/article/2016/12/05/286484.html

Japanese website Response reported  Japan Airlines (JAL), in collaboration with IBM Japan, will start JAL virtual assistance service ‘Manaka-chan’ exclusively to tour-planning customers to Hawaii with bringing their babies.

‘Manaka-chan’ can answer to inquiries such as what services are available to babies at airports, other amenities inside JAL cabin or where to get baby food in Hawaii.  JAL had offered the same kind of inquiry-answering services through its call center or website.  But this new service can be available around the clock via internet using PCs and smart phone. The service is available for the period of 5 December 2016 to 10 January 2017.

‘Manaka-chan’ is an application of IBM Watson artificial intelligence that learns vast amount of information to get optimum answers.  Using the past data of the call center as well as JAL’s own backup records, JAL and IBM Japan gathered  possible questions from their 10,000 employees to promote the AI’s learning.  Further, chatting with live customers would enhance its accuracy to answer.

JAL plans to use IBM Watson in other interfaces with its customers to get higher customer satisfaction.

New Airport Radar to Detect Smaller Debris Under Development

Japan to Develop New Airport Radar to Detect

Runway Debris x10 Greater Effectively

From SankeiBiz

2 August 2016

New Debris Detecting Radar for Demonstration at Tokyo Narita Airport

PHOTO Sunkei Business Eye

Debris on a runway may lead to a fatal accident of aircraft. The government of Japan with private sector led by Hitachi, Ltd., is developing a new advanced radar system to detect even a bolt of just 3cm. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is requesting JPY100-200 million in the  FY2017 budget  for further technological polishing-up.

The new radar system employs 90 GHz band to detect smaller objects explicitly by installing the units at both side of a runway with interval of 500 meters; each unit is networked by optical fiber cable for faster and comprehensive controlling.

Israel and U.K. are also developing debris-detecting radar system but the Japanese system can detect as early as 10 seconds, that is 10 times faster. While the new radar from Japan can detect smallest piece of 3 cm, showing 10 times greater sensitivity, the officials say.

MIC started its study since 2012 and now it reached a practical level in the first stage of development and installed prototype units at Narita Airport to see how effectively it works under different weathers such as rain or snow.

Previous demonstration showed its shortage of effectiveness at an airport like Haneda of Tokyo where several runways are built in a complex manner. The next stage of study will focus on how to enhance its accuracy at such complicated airports.

According to MIC, debris on runways are causing 5 to 10 minutes delay of aircraft or temporary closure of runways at airports in the world, resulting direct cost of JPY120 billion for malfunction and repair of aircraft as well as indirect cost of JPY1.2 trillion including delay or divert of aircraft.

Overlooked debris on runway may lead to a big disaster and this calls for a system to detect even smaller debris on the spot.

MIC and participating private sector plan to established a full fledged system after demonstration at Narita and further research work and will sell the high-performance system to airports around the world.

Kawasaki Heavy Delivers First Production C-2 Military Transport

Compiled from various domestic reporting

1 July 2016

The editor

Jiji Press

Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced on June 30 that the company delivered the first kind of production unit of C-2 medium military transport to Japanese Air Force.

The new transport is  a successor of C-1, the first indigenous military jet transport by the same company in service since 1973, but can carry 30 tons  almost four times as heavy than C-1 which have been criticized of too small cargo capacity.

PHOTO: Tadayuki YOSHIKAWA/Aviation Wire

With length of 43.9 meters, wingspan of 44.4 meters, C-2’s maximum takeoff weight is 141 tons.

With payload of 12 tons, it can fly as long as 6,500 km and reach Hawaii from Japan. C-2 also has air refueling receiver in flying boom system.

C-2 is powered by two GE CF6-80C2 engines which is also used by commercial Boeing 767 and defense purpose-built E-767 for the Japanese Air Force.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries was awarded development contract of experimental XC-2 in 2002. The  company also was awaraded to develop P-1, four-engined maritime patrol aircraft to replace P-3C for the Japanese navy and its first example of prodcution spec fliew first timei in September 2012.

The Defense Ministry will procure more than ten C-2s with total budget of JPY 264.3 billion with unit price of JPY 22.9billion but the series production unit will be priced JPY 18.8 billion.

But the demand of the Japanese military is quite limited and Kawasaki looks forward to exporting the aircraft.

PHOTO: Tadayuki YOSHIKAWA/Aviation Wire

Breaking News: Korean Air Engine Fire on Haneda Runway INCIDENT

FIRE ON KOREAN AIR BOEING 777’S LEFT ENGINE ABORTED TAKEOFF AT HANEDA TOKYO

From various sources,

May 27, TOKYO

KE2708’s left engine shows the sign of fire and burn. May 27, 2016 at Haneda, Tokyo. PHOTO  N. Takuchi, Mainichi Shimbun.

At around 12:30 pm JST today, Korean Air KE2708 bound for Gimpo International Airport, South Korea, was about to take off at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport with 319 passengers and crew. The Boeing 777-300 broke fire from its portside engine.

1. The aircraft made an emergency stop on the runway.
2. All of passengers and crew were able to evacuate by shooters but a total of 19 passengers had minor injury in their evacuation.
3. Japan’s Transport Safety Board made a preliminary investigation and found that the Korean aircraft’s left engine caught fire after running around 1,000 meters from a full stop. The investigators found the engine was severely damaged and internal parts got out by breaking through the casing to many parts of the runway. Experts thought some cause made a fuel leakage and got fire later.
4. According to sources at the Ministry of Land and Transportation and Korean Air, Haneda tower informed the aircraft that ‘Found fire at the left engine’ and the crew aborted takeoff. The crew confirmed anomaly at cockpit instruments.  The aircraft flew to Tokyo earlier on that day and there was no error found in the previous flight as well as pre-departure check up.
5. The aircraft has been flying since 1999 and the burned engine was exchanged a year and half ago.
6. Tokyo Metropolitan Police found no suspicious articles and found no clue to terrorism. When this Korean Air got this incident, US President Barak Obama was in the western part of Japan by attending G7 Summit in Mie Prefecture.
7. At Haneda, the runway was closed for about six hours while the other three runways stopped operations for about two hours.  According to Japan Airlines and ANA, the two major Japanese carriers, a total of 406 flights were cancelled affecting over 70,000 people by the Korean Air incident.

Update Kumamoto Airport;: April 20, Resumes Operations Partially

On April 19, small number of departing flight resumed at Kumamoto Airport where severe earthquakes struck in series since last Thursday.

One of departing flights bound for Nagoya had its check in and all procedures under the sky as the terminal building is still closed.

On April 20, some 30 flights will be arriving to Kumamoto from Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya by Japan Airlines and ANA.

The terminal building, later, restarted its business only partially on Tuesday.

Kumamoto Airport Resumes Operations of Arriving Flights On April 19

Kumamoto Airport, with its terminal buildings were damaged by previous earthquakes, has resumed flight services from today, for only fewer arriving flights from Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

All of departing flights from the airport are still cancelled as baggage security check cannot be performed inside the damaged buildings.

The airport is closer to the epicenter of the first major earthquake of April 14 and severely damaged including collapse of the ceiling inside the building.

Kumamoto and Oita region are  still under the pressure of continuing earthquakes numbered over 500 since the previous week and over 100,000 residents are accommodated inside refugee camps.

Update Advisory: Kumamoto Airport Closed

As of Monday April 18, Kumamoto Airport still has suspended all of commercial flights but open for emergency air lift operations on 24-hour basis. 

Relief supplies are being flown to Kumamoto but due to destructed land transportation paths, it is very hard to be delivered to all refugee residents, reportedly over 100,000 staying out of their homes.


Over 500 times of earthquakes have been counted since the first major quake on April 14.

Update: Kumamoto Airport Closed on April 17

All flights to and from Kumamoto Airport are cancelled on Sunday, April 17, too.

Kumamoto and its vicinity are still having frequent earthquakes of major scale over the days. At present there is no sign of getting back to normal conditions.

Kumamoto Airport Closed by Earthquakes

Terminal building at Kumamoto International Airport （IATA: KMJ - ICAO: RJFT) has been closed since early morning of Saturday, April 16. A large-scale earthquake in the midnight of Saturday damaged the buildings by collapsing the ceilings. All flights at Kumamoto Airport are cancelled on April 16.

1. The midnight earthquake was recorded 7 by Richter's scale and surpassed the previous one at 9:26 pm (JST) on April 14.
2. Japan Airlines cancelled all of 24 flights while ANA cancelled all of its 32 flights on April 16. Solaseed Air, Kyushu-based low cost carrier, cancelled its 10 flights bound for Haneda-Tokyo. Other airlines include Jetstar Japan for two flights to Narita, Fuji Dream Airlines (6 flights to Komaki-Nagoya) and Amakusa Airline to remote Amakusa island.
3. Reportedly, the runway of Kumamoto Airport is intact while the terminal building was damaged by earthquakes.

MRJ to be shown to G7 VIPｓ in May

Mitsubishi MRJ, photo Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation

Showcase Japan High Tech at Gateway of May Ise-Shima G7 Summit

Chubu International Airport, or Centrair, will display two examples of Japanese technologies: Toyota Mirai, fuel cell car and MRJ regional jet by Mitsubishi Aircraft for visiting VIPs in order to appeal Japanese advancement in technologies.

The first example of  MRJ, the first jet airliner developed in Japan, will be parked on the airport apron where  the top leaders of the summit  will transfer from their aircraft to helicopters to reach the venue of the summit, Kashikojima, Mie Prefecture, and Japan wants to impress them.

A model of MRJ cabin interior will be shown at media center of the summit to show the new aircraft to the press of many countries as well.

Toyota Mirai, fuel cell vehicle

ANA Collaborates with Vietnam Airlines

ANA Invests in Vietnam Airlines

Compiled from the Yomiuri Shimbun, 12 January 2016

ANA Holdings, a parent com;pany of All Nippon Airways,  announced on January 12 that the company and Vietnam AIrlines reached to an agreement in capital and business collaboration to be signed.

ANA will acquire about 8.8% of the issued stocks of Vietnam Airlines for JPY13 billion (USD111 million)  by coming summer. Upon agreement of alliances that respective companies are members, the two airlines will start code share and other airport services joint operations from October at earliest and also start joint service in mileage programs. ANA will send  its representative to the board of directors of Vietnam Airlines.

Vietnam Airlines has been collaborating with Japan Airlines but it will cease its relations with JAL after this new tie up with ANA.

Passenger traffic between Japan and Vietnam is on the rise these years and ANA

hopes to see a further business demand between the two countries as Trans Pacific Partnership will take effect soon.

Vietnam Airlines operates a total of 66 flights every week in  ten routes; Hanoi-Haneda (weekly 7 flights), -Narita (weekly 7 flights), Chubu (weekly 7 flights) and Fukuoka (four flights a week); from Ho Chi Minh to Narita (14 flights), Kansai (7 flights), Chubu (4 flights) and Fukuoka (twice a week) and from Danang to Narita (weekly 7 flights).

While ANA flies daily in Narita-Ho Chi Minh and Haneda-Hanoi routes. ANA Holdings says the load factor for both routes are kept somewhere 70 to 80 %.

Vietnam Airlines will become the second recipient of capital investment by ANA following Asiana of the South Korea that ANA holds 0.63% of the stocks.■