Which is the best value flyer for my holiday to Tokyo?
Q Can you recommend the cheapest airline for a two-week trip to Japan, flying in and out of Tokyo? Two of us are planning to go in early September. We are currently looking at flying out from London on 1 September but not tied to that date if we can get a better deal. What do you suggest?
Olivia C
A Until a year ago, my recommendation would be easy: Aeroflot via Moscow. The Russian airline offered excellent service and a
fast connection to Tokyo. But Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine led to an immediate ban on Aeroflot in the UK and elsewhere in western Europe, and this is no longer viable.
The second usually reliable option is also currently unavailable: flying on a Chinese airline via one of the hubs in the People’s Republic. Beijing’s travel restrictions are being eased, but overseas leisure visitors are still not welcome into China, even for a connecting flight.
My advice is to wait and see if Air China, China Eastern and China Southern come back into the game. Once they do, fares will fall – including on other airlines due to the increased competition. Chinese carriers have one advantage over their rivals: they fly much more direct routes as they are not banned from Russian airspace. So you could find your indirect flight takes barely longer than nonstops on British Airways or Japan Airlines. Conversely, if China returns to pre-Covid rules, you might want to build in a visa-free stopover. I can strongly recommend 48 hours in Beijing (if you fly on Air China) or Shanghai (China Eastern).
Before you book, be aware of any Covid restrictions that apply to arrivals from China: at present Japan has mandatory tests for passengers arriving from the People’s Republic, with quarantine imposed for anyone who is positive for Covid-19.
The return of Chinese airlines at scale is hypothetical. If I am wrong and the flights do not come back, then one of the Gulfbased airlines (particularly Emirates or Qatar Airways) is likely to offer the cheapest deal.
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