Air India has announced that it will be scaling up its direct non-stop services between Delhi and Tokyo for the northern summer season of 2025. Commencing on March 31, 2025, the Indian flag carrier will switch its four-times-weekly flights from Delhi to Tokyo away from the Japanese city’s Narita Airport (NRT) and will instead serve Haneda Airport (HND). According to an airline statement issued on March 3, 2025, the move between Tokyo airports will “provide passengers faster and more affordable access to central Tokyo.”
The carrier’s new service will see flights departing Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) at 20:20 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as AI358, arriving at Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND) at 07:55 the following day. The return flights (AI357) depart Haneda at 11:50 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, arriving back in Delhi at 17:25 (all time local).
All flights will continue to be operated by the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners which accommodate 256 passengers in a two-class layout (18 business class eats and 238 in economy class). The flights have been deliberately timed to allow for connecting traffic from several domestic Indian destinations as well as international routes across Asia and Europe to connect to Tokyo via Delhi.
Air India’s decision to transfer operations to Haneda Airport, which is located 12 miles (18 km) from downtown Tokyo, will cut travel time to Tokyo Station from nearly one hour by road from Narita to approximately 30 minutes. According to the carrier, “This not only saves valuable time for passengers but also offers more cost-effective transportation options, enhancing the overall journey experience.”
“Moving our flights to Haneda Airport is a significant advantage for our guests – it brings them much closer to the centre of Tokyo,” added Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer of Air India. “With this shift, we are not only connecting two vibrant capitals more effectively but also helping boost trade and tourism between India and Japan”.
Complementing the shift to Tokyo-Haneda Airport, Air India has also announced the expansion to its existing codeshare agreement with Star Alliance partner, All Nippon Airways (ANA). The expansion is to provide Air India passengers a broader range of onward connections from Tokyo-Haneda to six additional destinations across Japan. Starting on April 1, 2025, subject to due regulatory approval, Air India will place its ‘AI’ designator code on ANA flights between Tokyo-Haneda and Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka, and Sapporo.
This will allow Air India passengers to travel to any of these destinations from Delhi (or other cities on the current Air India network) on a single ticket, with their baggage checked through to their final destination.
Reciprocally, ANA will place its ‘NH’ designator code on Air India’s flights between Delhi and Tokyo-Haneda, plus onward Air India services to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune, enabling its customers wider access to the Indian carrier’s domestic route network. Air India and ANA first signed a codeshare agreement in April 2024, which allowed Air India to codeshare on ANA’s Tokyo Haneda to Delhi and Tokyo-Narita to Mumbai flights and ANA to codeshare on Air India’s Delhi to Tokyo flights.
What the airlines say
“Our deepened partnership with ANA opens up Japan like never before for our guests,” commented Aggarwal. “By providing easy access for our guests to ANA’s domestic Japan network, combined with ANA’s reach into Air India’s extensive Indian network, we’re creating a stronger bridge between our two nations, making travel simpler and truly rewarding for our common guests.”
According to Japan National Tourism Organization, 233,000 Indians visited Japan between January and December 2024, a 40% increase from the previous year, underscoring Japan’s growing appeal as a travel destination for Indian tourists.
“To promote increased exchange between Japan and India, ANA is expanding its codeshare partnership with Star Alliance partner Air India to enhance its network,” said ANA’s Executive Vice President of Alliances and International Affairs, Katsuya Goto.
“This expansion, with a focus on the increased codeshare options from Delhi to six destinations within India, will provide customers with more opportunities and seamless connections, delivering a satisfying experience for premium customers in particular. This is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to provide a superior travel experience for customers flying between Japan and India.”