United Airlines is set to launch direct flights between Narita, Japan, and Palau beginning May 2025.
The move is one welcomed by Palauan authorities as they work to revitalize tourism, which remains at about 60% of pre-COVID numbers.
“We welcome United Airlines and this new route, which will re-establish the direct flight between Japan and Palau,” President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. said. “United has been a good partner, quickly returning when we reopened fully to travel following the COVID pandemic. We’re now at flights six days a week, which has helped with tourism and our overall economy.”
The new route will reconnect Palau with its traditional key market of Japan. It was previously serviced by Delta Airlines until 2018.
In addition to the United Airlines service, Japan Airlines will begin charter flights from Narita to Palau in March 2025. Officials hope the flights, together with other regular service and charter flights from Guam, Australia, and Taiwan will bolster tourism by making travel more accessible for visitors from Japan and other countries.
United Airlines announced the Japan-Palau route as part of its expanding global network. United is the only U.S. carrier that flies between Palau and Guam. It also has a service between Guam and Saipan.
Palau officials have touted a steady increase in arrivals, though the numbers still fall short of pre-COVID. Within the first five months of this year, the nation surpassed tourism arrivals numbers compared to last year.
“The hope is we reach near pre-COVID numbers, at around 80,000 tourists, this year and continue to build from there,” Kadoi Ruluked, managing director of the Palau Visitors Authority; previously told the Journal. See High times: regional airports look to rise at https://mbjguam.com/high-times-regional-airports-look-rise.
Meanwhile, efforts are also underway in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam to boost tourism. Both the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Marianas Visitors Authority recently participated in Tourism EXPO Japan 2024 in Tokyo, showcasing their destinations to more than 182,000 attendees. See Guam and NMI market islands hopefully for the future at https://www.mbjguam.com/guam-and-nmi-market-islands-hopefully-future
United previously announced the airline would extend the Saipan-Narita Japan, which was originally expected to end in August. However, the airline extended it to at least July 2025, it said.
In other travel related news, the Transport Security Administration has proposed a REAL ID rule on the Federal Register that “agencies may implement the card-based enforcement in phases” delaying the enforcement deadline from May 5, 2025 to May 5, 2027. As of the deadline of Oct. 15, 8,988 comments had been received at the Regulations site linked to the Federal Register.
Not all comments are in favor of a REAL ID.
The Real ID Act of 2005 means that U.S. residents aged 18 and older will eventually have to present a Real ID driver’s license or a passport or other federally approved document to fly.
And finally, Japan Airlines is offering free domestic flights for international travelers if they fly in and out of the country with the airline. Both bookings need to be made in the same reservation.
The option to fly to other destinations in Japan includes travelers from the U.S. as well as Asian destinations, and Australia and New Zealand. mbj