By Pacific Island Times News Staff
United Airlines will discontinue the daily service between Fukuoka and Guam, which apparently did not pick up since the route opened two years ago.
“Our Fukuoka to Guam service will end on Oct. 26, 2024, and we are working to re-accommodate affected customers,” United’s corporate communications office said.
“We regularly evaluate our Guam schedule and make adjustments based on demand and the broader needs of our network,” it added.
United will continue to operate the four other existing routes that fly from Guam to Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo-Narita and Tokyo-Haneda.
The Guam-Fukuoka nonstop service utilizing the B737-800 aircraft was launched on Aug. 4, 2022, three days after the Nagoya route opened, as part of United’s bid to expand capacity between Japan and Guam.
United’s move to stop the Fukuoka service leaves Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines' as the only U.S. carrier serving the destination, following Delta Air Lines withdrawal from the Honolulu-Fukuoka route in 2019.
While shutting down the Fukuoka route, United will open a new service between Narita, Japan and Cebu, Philippines, with the inaugural flight scheduled for July 31.
United’s service realignment underscores the pressures facing the travel industry in the current market.
Earlier this year, the Guam Visitors Bureau reported that a combination of the high cost of airfares and the steadily falling yen has hampered its goal to revive the Japanese market.
Historically, Japan has been Guam's top source market but it has been dislodged by Korea. Economists said the yen has lost about a third of its value since the start of 2021, making it more difficult for Guam to regain Japan's pre-pandemic status.
While the yen is expected to stabilize over time, GVB noted that “the high cost of airfares will remain a significant factor” considering that United dominates the market for travel between Japan and Guam.
“Although JAL flies to NRT, UA has a near monopoly on this market,” GVB stated in a management report filed with Ernst & Young. “The game changer will be the launch of new airlines, including LCCs.”
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