JAL takes its first fly to Macau

Teaming up with Japan Airlines (JAL), Highest International Standards (HIS), the 2nd largest travel agency in Japan, co-organized a group of Japanese individual travelers who flew on JAL’s first charter flight to Macau on May 4. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) welcomed the flight upon arrival. A full house of 230 passengers departed Nagoya late night on May 3 and arrived Macau at 1 a.m. on May 4. A group of Portuguese Folk Dancers distributed souvenirs to welcome the visitors from Japan. While HIS previously has worked with other airlines to organize charter flights to Macau, this is the first time that HIS is cooperating with the largest airline in Japan, JAL to organize a charter flight for 230 Japanese individual travelers to Macau for a 4-day visit. Established in 1951, Japan Airlines (JAL) is the largest airline company in Japan with over 100 offices and 14,000 staffs around the globe. At present, JAL operates airlinks with 213 airports in 35 countries and regions, with a total of 276 international air services (239 for passenger and 37 for freight) and 164 domestic passenger air services. This is also the first time for JAL to launch a flight to the Macau International Airport. This year, JAL plans to operate 800 charter flight services, an increase of 10% compared with last year. The charter flights include destinations such as Palau, Alaska, Alice Springs, Urumuqi and Ulan Bator. In addition, JAL will also operate charter flights for U.S. major-league baseball. In July this year, JAL will operate an own-use charter for a soccer team to Macau. MGTO has a good relationship with JAL and has received their delegation in January this year. The purpose of organizing the first charter flight cooperation between HIS and JAL to Macau is to explore the potential of the tourism market of Macau as well as the Macau International Airport. Japan is the 4th largest market for Macau. Last year, Macau received close to 170,000 visitors from Japan, an increment of 38% compared with 2004. By the end of May, MGTO will carry out large-scale promotional activities in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. With the theme of the “Historic Centre of Macau” and the “Macau Grand Prix”, MGTO wishes to encourage more visitors from Japan to visit Macau.