Virgin Australia Launches Cairns to Tokyo Haneda Flights with Boeing 737-8s

Virgin Australia has started flying daily from Cairns to Tokyo Haneda, the first direct connection between the two cities. The airline is using its brand new Boeing 737-8 aircraft for the route, which is one of the longest in the world for the narrow-body jet.

The Cairns to Tokyo Haneda flights cover a distance of 3,627 miles (5,838 km), which is nearly the same as New York to Paris. The flight time is about 7 hours and 45 minutes northbound and 7 hours and 30 minutes southbound. The schedule is as follows:

• VA77 Cairns to Tokyo departing 1:15 PM arriving 8:00 PM
• VA78 Tokyo to Cairns departing 9:45 PM arriving 6:15 AM (+1 day)

Virgin Australia is using its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft for the route, which it received in early 2023. The airline has ordered eight of these planes, which are more fuel-efficient, quieter, and have a longer range than the previous generation of 737s.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 has 170 seats, including eight business class seats and 162 economy class seats. The business class seats are recliners with a 38-inch pitch and a 9.7-inch touchscreen. The economy class seats have a 30-inch pitch and a USB port. All passengers have access to wireless entertainment and Wi-Fi on board.

Why Virgin Australia Chose Cairns and Tokyo Haneda?
Virgin Australia had secured slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport before the pandemic, when it planned to fly there from Brisbane with its wide-body jets. However, after entering voluntary administration and restructuring its business, the airline decided to retire all its Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s and focus on domestic and short-haul international routes with its Boeing 737 fleet.

To avoid losing its valuable Tokyo Haneda slots, Virgin Australia had to launch flights there by mid-2023. Cairns was the only city in Australia within range of Tokyo with the Boeing 737-8, and also a popular destination for Japanese tourists. Tokyo Haneda is the preferred airport for travelers to Tokyo, as it is closer to the city center than Narita Airport.

Virgin Australia hopes to capture the demand for leisure travel between Cairns and Tokyo, as well as connect passengers to its domestic network in Australia and its partner airlines in Japan. The airline has codeshare agreements with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL), which offer flights from Tokyo Haneda to other cities in Japan and beyond.