Japan Airlines’ long-standing nonstop flight between San Diego and Tokyo will soon return to daily service following a monthslong reduction in frequency initiated by the carrier earlier this year.
The route’s flight frequency, which is currently four days a week, has varied over the years since its debut in 2012. Japan Airlines cited demand for travel to Japan, including traffic between North America and Asia, as the reason for the change. Daily service is scheduled to start Aug. 1 and is expected to continue year-round.
The San Diego Internatioal Airport confirmed that bookings for the flight continue to grow, with passenger traffic on San Diego-Asia routes rising 42% from 2023 to 2025. That growth, the airport said, has been fueled by strong business, tourism and cultural connections across the Pacific.
More recent data highlights the strong appeal of the flight. Year to date through March show Japan Airlines’ flights out of San Diego have been, on average, 95% full, which is four points higher than the same period last year, when the occupancy was 91%, said San Diego airport spokesperson Nicole Hall.
Similarly, the volume of passengers on the route has grown 13% year to date through March, compared to a year earlier, Hall noted.
“Since the route launched, more than 30 Japanese companies have invested approximately $8.7 billion in San Diego County,” said Atif Saeed, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “With deep economic and defense ties between our regions, increased air service will further strengthen these valuable relationships.”
When the Tokyo nonstop made its debut in 2012, airport officials explained that the new flight to and from San Diego was possible because of the introduction at that time of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, characterized as a new generation of wide-body aircraft that had much improved fuel economy and range. Before that, the strong headwinds along the route to Asia made nonstop flights of that distance difficult, if not impossible, from the San Diego airport.
As recently as April of last year, Japan Airlines expanded its San Diego route to daily service, but that came to an end in December, after which the flight frequency dropped to four times a week. As part of its announcement of expanded service to Tokyo, the airline noted that it is introducing some added features for passengers’ in-flight experience, including the renowned Japanese sake Hakurakusei that will be available in premium economy and economy class, plus special entertainment options commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ visit to Japan.
For the San Diego route, Japan Airlines recently began using the 787-9 aircraft type, which contains additional business seats and will also have a premium economy class, underscoring the growing demand for premium seats to Asia for San Diego passengers, Hall said.
Another popular San Diego overseas flight — British Airways’ nonstop to London — has seen such an increase in demand that it added a second daily flight in 2024.