"Open Skies" for Japan; what does it mean for China adoption travel?

With announcement of the US-Japan accord to allow full air carrier access and deregulated pricing between both countries, action is already underway to reshape codeshare arrangements, joint fares and scheduling, and even possible investment in financially-troubled Japan Airlines. Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport, which has been restricted to domestic and limited regional service, may also soon see nonstops from North America.


While this development has the potential to bring US-Japan service levels up and fares down - as we've seen between the US and Europe - what if any impact does it hold for the adoption traveler trying to get home from Guangzhou, China?


At weninchina.com, I've just updated the Planning Transpacific Flights article to reflect options available for Winter 2010. The loss of Northwest's morning nonstop from Guangzhou to Tokyo-Narita has complicated the process of selecting airlines and flights for adoption travelers to be sure, but other options have started to gel, including the growth of Beijing as a gateway for the Star Alliance carriers, and the rise of Seoul-Incheon as an excellent hub between Asia and North America.


What has surprised me in researching the available flights this season is the complete lack of connecting options out of Guangzhou to North America via Tokyo. Just one year ago this was the primary route home. Today, even though there are three daily nonstops between these two airports, none of them are timed to connect onward to ANY flights to the US mainland or Canada.


If the United-Continental-All Nippon (ANA) transpacific joint venture is approved, what I'd like to see right away is for the 9:15 am All Nippon departure from Guangzhou to Tokyo moved up by two hours. This would allow that flight to easily connect to the entire eastbound bank of United, Continental, and Air Canada departures. (The aircraft which flies this route sits overnight at the gate in Guangzhou, so it's not going to be too much of a hassle.) This one step would restore virtually all of the same-day two-connection possibilities between Guangzhou and North America that were lost when Northwest pulled out in February 2009.


ANA has stated they want big growth in 2010 from international service and alliance opportunities. Sounds like this would be an easy first step, and would make life a lot easier for hundreds of families.

Transpacific Air Travel Options: ANA-All Nippon

With Northwest Airlines pulling out of Guangzhou in March 2009, there will no longer be an American-flag carrier serving the city all adopting families leave from. I have been conducting research and contacting airlines' press offices for comment and suggestions; over the next few weeks I'll discuss some of the other options available.

Let's start with the Japanese carrier ANA - All Nippon Airways. Tokyo's Narita Airport is ANA's home base, which means no hassles regarding your new child's Chinese passport. ANA is a member of the Star Alliance, so earning miles on your United frequent flyer account is straightforward. And ANA serves a number of destinations in China, most importantly Guangzhou. ANA, not surprisingly for an Asian carrier, has a good reputation for service, and as an English-speaker, you will not have any problems.

When you look at the ANA timetable, however, connections out of Guangzhou back to America are slim. Only San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu can be hooked up.  From these three cities, going to China, connections can be made to Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing (except for L.A., which arrives too late to make the Beijing flight.) Click on the map below for an expanded view:

I ran airfares on a typical short-notice adoption routing: leaving San Francisco March 4 to Beijing, returning from Guangzhou on March 19. The total trip came to about $1600 per person. If you want to book a third seat coming back from China (which we highly recommend), expect to pay around $900 for the one-way. You'll have to call their reservations desk, as you cannot book a one-way ticket from China to the USA over their website.

The spokesman I've dealt with confirms that ANA does not offer special fares for adopting families. When you do get your placement date, you'll be paying the higher no-advance-notice fare.  With the current economic crisis, even the short-notice fares aren't too bad, but these do tend to go up in the summer months. And when the economy does get stronger again, prices will get even steeper.

The limited connections available with this carrier also mean you will have to spend at least one more night inbound to China - while a Beijing stopover is a great idea to help you with jetlag, and to see the sights before Placement Day, if you are trying to economize by flying directly to your child's provincial capital, ANA is not going to be your first choice.

Contact information:

Phone: 1-800-2-FLY-ANA (US 50 and Canada)

Web: www.anaskyweb.com/us/e