Air cargo carriers to benefit from U.S.-Japan aviation deal

Air cargo carriers to benefit from U.S.-Japan aviation deal The United States and Japan have agreed to expand their nine-year-old bilateral air services agreement in a move that provides more operating rights in the highly restricted Japanese market for all-cargo carriers and to a lesser degree passenger airlines.
   UPS said the agreement provides it authority to operate six daily flights between the United States and Nagoya in addition to its daily service to Tokyo and Osaka. The overnight package carrier said it will connect flights from Nagoya, Japan’s fourth-largest city, to its new air hub in Shanghai, China, due to be completed in 2008.
   According to the Financial Times, Polar Air Cargo received permission to start service to Osaka.
   The deal falls short of open skies arrangements the United States has with many other countries that allow carriers to fly to any point in the partner nation and onto to other countries.
   The U.S. Transportation Department said more talks are scheduled in the coming year to consider further market opening, according to the FT.
   'With the establishment of our hub in Shanghai and its formal opening next year, the opening of air lanes between Nagoya and Shanghai will improve our services to customers throughout Asia, especially China and Japan,” said Ken Torok, president, UPS Asia Pacific, in a statement.
   UPS has operated in Japan since 1987 and transitioned to a wholly owned international express delivery operation in 2004. The company’s operations cover 15 metropolitan areas, offering express delivery, customs brokerage and supply chain management services. UPS offers 47 weekly flights to and from Tokyo and Osaka.