Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Here's "Cranky Flyer's" take, which I agree with.
As I wrote years ago, Narita isn't an asset. The LR versions of the 777 made "technical stops" like Narita as useless as Keflavik, or dare I say Anchorage. Back then folks got mad at me and claimed I was NWA bashing. Now you can call it "Delta bashing" if you must, and I love Delta. It is what it is.
IMHO Delta is looking for a way out, while still hoping to capture some of the revenue they are leaving on the table.
Now about that China route authority... In the future Narita is just going to be a position report.
[Begin Sarcasm]
This is because there is no O&D traffic in Tokyo. Obviously Tokyo has the same lack of international travelers, population base and economic base as Keflavik. This is what makes it an apples to apples comparison. We should just drop out of Japan altogether and do nothing but overfly. Nobody in Asia wants to fly to Japan and nobody in the US wants to fly to Japan, and the Japanese hate to travel, so its all an illusion.
[End Sarcasm]
Narita may have been useless to DAL before it had fifth freedom rights for passenger and cargo. It may be useless AFTER a new bilateral, but in the present it is FAR from useless.