British Airways moving Tokyo flights from Narita to Haneda airport

The 2020 Olympics is proving to be a good opportunity for authorities, airports and airlines to tweak many long haul flights to Tokyo.

For the last decade or so British Airways has offered two daily flights to Tokyo, one to Narita and one to Haneda. It will now be consolidating its operations at Haneda, beginning on the 28th March.

This makes sense, for several reasons:

Haneda is closer to central Tokyo, and both cheaper and faster to get to/from

oneworld partner JAL operates more domestic flights from Haneda, so there are greater opportunities for connections

all first and business class passengers can now use fast track security

JAL will re-open its renovated First Class and Sakura lounges in March

….. not to mention the financial benefits of consolidating operations at one airport rather than two.

The flight timings have been roughly preserved. The two flights will now be:

BA007, departing Heathrow at 11:35 and arriving in Haneda the following day at 07:10 (Boeing 777)

BA008  departs Haneda at 09:55 and arrives in London 13:15 the same day (Boeing 777)

BA005 departing Heathrow at 15:40 and arriving in Haneda at 11:15 (Boeing 787)

BA006 departs Haneda at 13:15 and arrives in London at 17:25 the same day (Boeing 787)

In July BA5/BA6 will be replaced with an A350 with the new Club Suite so it is worth targetting this flight if you can.

The new flights are visible and bookable on ba.com here.

PS.  If you missed it, take a look at our recent article on 10 good reasons to think about getting the British Airways American Express credit card.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)