Japan’s push to become a business-aviation-friendly environment for foreign operators is paying off, with the sector show signs of a steady upward trend, according to Kenji Sakata, the deputy director of the Policy Research Office, Aviation Strategy Division at Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).
Speaking to AIN before this year’s ABACE event, Sakata said international business aviation recorded strong double-digit growth of 10.4 percent in 2016, with a 5 percent increase at Haneda International Airport and a staggering 25.5 percent increase at Narita International.
“The demand from business aviation has been so strong that some of the landing requests [at Haneda] have been rejected,” said Sakata. “Taking this situation into consideration, we have reviewed the acceptance conditions for business aviation, such as the expansion of slots in April 2016.”
Conveniently located 10 miles from downtown Tokyo, Haneda Airport has become a hotspot for business aviation travelers. According to Makoto Tsunogae, secretary general of theJapanese Business Aviation Association(JBAA, Booth P109), more than 60 percent of foreign business jets are destined for the Metropolitan Tokyo area, and more than 80 percent fly into Japan’s big four airports—Haneda, Narita, Kansai and Chubu. Moreover, 40 percent of Japan-bound business jets come from China.
Faced with this influx of traffic, the number of parking spots at Haneda was increased last year, and the number of landing slots was doubled, from eight to 16 per day (between 06.00 and 23.00 local time, 21.00-14.00 UTC], with the maximum number of arrival slots from four to 15. The authority also eliminated slot restrictions past midnight.
In October 2016, further improvements were also made to the permit lead-time for foreign-registered aircraft operating to Haneda. “To be friendlier to business jets, lead time for operational application of foreign business jets coming to, and flying within, Japan was shortened, mostly to three days. Ferry flights between Haneda and Narita can be made with 24 hours’ pre-notice,” said Tsunogae.
Still, for those looking to avoid the general congestion of the Tokyo area, Sakata noted that any airport that accepts commercial aircraft has the ability to accommodate business jets.
“In March 2016, Kansai International Airport opened a new customs and immigration facility, named ‘Fast Lane,’ which ensures smooth immigration procedures for business aviation passengers,” said Sakata.
“Likewise, some other airports, such as Chubu, Nagoya and Kobe, have exclusive customs and immigration facilities for business aviation passengers. These dedicated facilities ensure fast and smooth customs clearance.”
For travelers flying into Chubu, Centrair, Kansai International, New Chitose, Sendai, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Saga and Naha, the permit lead-time is three days, or 24 hours in the case of urgent business. In principle, one week is required for all other airports in the country.
“There are many rural airports that accept business jets, especially for sightseeing purposes. We need to disseminate how they can be utilized,” said Tsunogae.
Close collaboration and proper utilization of Japan’s airports is now high on the agenda for aviation authorities, as the country gears up for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Olympics/Paralympics in 2020.
Universal Support
To ensure a seamless travel experience, Texas-based Universal Weather and Aviation (including its ground support division, Universal Aviation) is one company that offers established expertise in the Japanese market.
Established in 2004, Universal’s unit in Japan—Universal Aviation Japan—provides supervisory services at all of the country’s airports, in addition to its ground support facilities at Haneda, Narita, Osaka-Kansai and Sapporo. The team also offers services in English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Spanish.
“[We are] already ramping up staff and bringing expertise from our sister company in Brazil to bring best practices and lessons learned from the recent Summer Olympics in Rio,” said Charlie Mularski, Universal Weather and Aviation regional vice president, Asia Pacific.
“Our ground handling and full coordination staff in Japan are undergoing ramp safety training, customer service workshops, procuring new vehicles and ground support equipment, and we are hiring more Chinese-speaking supervisors to help serve the large volume of business jets expected during the games in Tokyo.”
Mularski added that Universal Aviation Japan’s managing director, Hiroshi Higashiyama, who also serves as a volunteer director at the JCAB, is sharing the know-how and working together with the authorities to prepare recommendations for logistics, parking options and slots.
“Events like this have to be planned and prepared for years in advance. Anyone not doing this will not be able to cope withthe demands and expectation,” said Mularski.
Meanwhile, Sakata told AIN that the authority is currently exploring strategies to simplify the customs, immigration and quarantine (CQI) procedure, and fast-track the application process. Expansion of the parking area at Haneda is also under construction and slot capacity is set to increase.
Convention attendees who want to know more about flying into Japan are invited to visit the Japanese team booths (located between P107 and P113) and Universal Aviation’s booth (H210).