The Airchive- Tokyo Narita Planespotting

	Tokyo Narita International Airport - "New Tokyo International Airport" Tokyo Narita International Airport is 1 of 2 major airports serving Tokyo Airport. It is the #1 international gateway to Japan, but the competing Haneda, which is predominantly for domestic services is the busiest airport inJapan, and in the top 10 in the world. Narita was originally designed to takeover International long haul flights from Haneda. It opened in 1978 as New Tokyo International Airport to a storm of controversy. The fact that it is an hour from Central Tokyo wasn't the central issue, but riots from farmer's whose land was annexed to build the airport. This resulted in numerous deadly clashes and riots, which delayed the airport's opening for years. Reportedly, one farmer continues to occupy a small plot of land on airport grounds. NRT is the home base of ANA and JAL, though there is limited domestic service from here. Northwest continues to base its Asian hub here. Close-in Haneda and the Shinkassen Bullet trains attract more attention from the domestic market. The limited domestic service here is mainly for connecting passengers as the immediate population area around the Narita Airport isn't that significant. Unlike most major cities in Japan, the domestic services are flown by narrow bodies with the widebodies at the closer in domestic airports. At one time, Narita was the unofficial "747 Capital of the World", but as a metaphor for airports across the globe, the 777 and A340s are becoming a more familiar site. If not for JAL and ANAs 747 (among the world's largest operators of the type), they would be even less plentiful. Narita is under assault from a number of factors: Haneda is building an additional runway to attract more long haul international traffic; It is becoming less and less of an Asian hub as long haul aircraft are able to overfly it to their destinations such as Singapore and Shanghai; and Japan's emerging gateways such as Kansai. However, cargo traffic remains strong. The airport is served by 2 massive passenger terminals and an impressive cargo operation.
	Terminal 1 T1 is the original terminal. ANA and Star Alliance moved their operations here in 2007, while JAL and the One World members moved to T2 with the notable exception of British Airways. SkyTeam members Delta and Continental have also recently moved here. This massive terminal features 4 wings each with satellite rotunda gates. A new North Wing dominated by SkyTeam carriers opened in 2006.







	Terminal 1 Airside and Shopping Though no where near the same level as Singapore's Changi, Narita is a pleasant place to spend a few hours on layover.









	NRT Passenger Information Kiosks These very informative kiosks are, as far as I know, uique to NRT.

	ANA Dreamliner Poster Tokyo Nartia will be site of the world's first scheduled flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It was originally scheduled to be in May, 2008 but following program days, will be lucky to be the end of 2008.

	T1 Airside



	Jet Bridge Block In
	Cargo Row: JAL Cargo 747s, NCA 747, FedEx MD-10, and Aeroflot DC-10

	T1 Ramp and Northwest Asian Hub NWA's Asian hub continues to go strong with flight crews, 747s, and even757s based here. Flights from Detroit, LAX, Honolulu and Minneapolis/St. Paul connect here for flights throughout North and Southern Asia, as well as Guam.

	Observation Deck Japan is a very plane spotter friendly place with the largest ob decks I've ever seen. They are located atop both terminals with superb vistas.
	Terminal 2 Narita Terminal 2 was the domain of Japan's 2 flagship carriers, ANA and JAL. One World partners of newly inducted JAL relocated here while ANA and Star Alliance shifted operations to T1. The airlines offer relatively limited domestic flights from Narita so code sharing on domestic flights aren't as big a deal as in other places due to Japan's strong rail network and domestic flights at Haneda.





	Terminal 2 Observation Deck Both wings of T2 offer massive observation decks.
	NAA Art Gallery Continuing Japan's plane friendly culture, this aviation art gallery is a definite treat in Terminal 2.
	Aviation "Museum Shop" There is an excellent airline gift store located near the observation decks in Terminal 2.

	DC-3 Model This huge DC-3 model featuring original JAL markings is located near the "Museum Shop" in terminal 2.
	Flight Simulator Video Game
	Alitalia Boeing 777-200
	Alitalia Boeing 777-200
	American Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER AA operates 777s from NRT to JFK, LAX, Chicago ORD, and Dallas/Ft. Worth DFW. I flew this very aircraft in December, 2005 from DFW to NRT and found it to be an excellent flight. The large presence of the 777 at NRT is another sign, that this is "the age of the twins".

	Air France Boeing 777-200 ER Air France/KLM is now the world's 2nd largest operator in terms of RPKs. Air France operates a double daily between Paris Charles De Gualle (CDG) and Narita. 777s are now taking over the 747 routes on long-haul routes.

	ANA Boeing 777-200 and 777-300 ANA, Japan's largest airline, is replacing its 747s with 777-300s.
	ANA Boeing 737 Narita is dominated by widebodies, with domestic service narrow bodies such as this 737 are a rare site.
	ANA Boeing 767-300 ANA, long Japan's #1 domestic airline, is competing furiously on international long-haul with JAL. ANA only began international services in 1986.
	Bimian Bangladesh Airlines Airbus A-310
	Cargo Row Narita remains a fortified cargo hub. Northwest , JAL, FedEx, UPS, and Nippon Cargo are major users.
	Delta Airlines Boeing 777-200 Delta operates 777s from NRT to Los Angeles and Atlanta. Delta has a huge presence in Europe, the Middle East, and South America, but continues to be a very small player in Asia. In the early and mid 90s, Delta had much more extensive services in Asia including Seoul, Hong Kong, and Tapei.

	EVA Air Airbus A330-300 Eva of Taiwan is less than 20 years old but is already a formidable challenger to China Airlines.
	FedEx MD-11 and JAL 777
	FedEx MD-11 and JAL 777
	JAL Boeing 747-400 JAL's new livery (2004) is seen on this 747. JAL is the world's largest operator of 747s, though 777s and the departure of 747s for domestic operations are strarting to dwindle that number. JAL, and ANA, are very loyal to Boeing operating only Boeing products. JAL had limited Airbus A-320s and A-300s from its merger with JAS but those have been spun off.


	JAL Boeing 747-400 JAL remains the world's largest operator of the 747, and the only operator of the domestic variant, the 747-400D (Domestic). These are rotated in and out of domestic service to international operations keep cycles down. NRT receives no 747 domestic service. All of that is concentrated at the much closer Haneda Tokyo International Airport.
	JAL Boeing 777-200 JAL has become a large operator of the 777 which are beginning to replace the 747s on some flights.JAL has recently joined One World Alliance.
	Korean Airlines Boeing 777-300 Korean and Japan are often bitter rivalries in trade, airports, culture, commerce, sports, and politics. This, however, doesn't deter large numbers of people traveling between the two countries as evidenced by this 777-300
	MIAT Mongolia Airbus A310 MIAT's fleet consists of 1 An-26, 1 737-800s, and this sole 1980s vintage A310. "Chinggis Khaan" is readying for departure to its namesake airport and homebase in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Miat serves Moscow, Berlin (via Moscow), Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing.

	Northwest Boeing 747-400 Northwest operates 747s and A330s from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Detroit to the Narita Asian hub. From there, A330s, 747s, and 757s are used to connect throughout Asian. NW employs an unusual strategy of only having nonstop Asian flights from the U.S. to Japan, requiring connections be made. With the bulk of Asian traffic coming through the minimally competitive Detroit, Seattle and Minneapolis/St. Paul hub's, NW isn't very motivated to create more nonstop flights.
	Northwest Boeing 757 Northwest operates 747s and A330s from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Detroit to the Narita Asian hub. From there, A330s, 747s, and 757s are used to connect throughout Asian. NW employs an unusual strategy of only having nonstop Asian flights from the U.S. to Japan, requiring connections be made. With the bulk of Asian traffic coming through the minimally competitive Detroit, Seattle and Minneapolis/St. Paul hub's, NW isn't very motivated to create more nonstop flights.
	Northwest Airbus A330 Northwest operates 747s and A330s from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Detroit to the Narita Asian hub. From there, A330s, 747s, and 757s are used to connect throughout Asian. NW employs an unusual strategy of only having nonstop Asian flights from the U.S. to Japan, requiring connections be made. With the bulk of Asian traffic coming through the minimally competitive Detroit, Seattle and Minneapolis/St. Paul hub's, NW isn't very motivated to create more nonstop flights. United is Northwest's fiercest rival to Asia.

	Qantas Boeing 747-400
	Thai Boeing 747-400
	United Airlines Boeing 777-200 I flew this very 777 from Honolulu to Tokyo. Once formerly the almost exclusive domain of 747s, Tokyo sees many 777s from United and other carriers.

	United Airlines Boeing 747-400 (2004 livery) Once formerly the almost exclusive domain of 747s, Tokyo sees many 777s from United and other carriers.
	Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 Virgin operates 747s and A340s daily from Heathrow to Narita, and will likely bring the A380 here in 2008 or 2009. It was Virgin being awarded its first flights between Heathrow and Tokyo back in 1991 which first attracted the ire of British Airways and led to the infamous "Dirty Tricks" campaign.

	United Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER UA serves Tokyo from New York, Washington Dulles, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
	Boeing 767-300 flares
	ATC Tower
	ATC Tower
	Narita Topiary Sign
	Runway Approach and Line-up
	"Farewell Tokyo" It is custom in Japan for flights to receive a "wave off" from the ground crew at departure.
	Runway 16R/34 L Lineup
	American Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER approaching Tokyo
	ANA Hanger
	ANA Hangers
	Jetway Cleaning Crew Army



	American Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER over Tokyo Bay
	American Airlines Boeing 777-200 ER Vistas
	Plane to Plane Photography Over the Northern Pacific This shot of a UPS Boeing 767-300 freighter was captured over the Aleutian Chain from the 777-200 I was on. The 2,000 foot separation between the 2 aircraft was a real treat for photos.

	UA 777 Over A Typhoon Now, this was fun flight. We piqued our way through this puppy and it was b-b-b-u-m-p-y.