Thoughts on air travel between Denver and Japan

If you are traveling with a group that has arranged group air travel, you can skip this page. But if you are responsible for purchasing your air transportation, you might find some of this information helpful.

Note: do not purchase airline tickets, using money or points, until a trip is confirmed a 'go' - that is, the minimum number of travelers have committed to the trip.

In the post-pandemic world, many of the familiar routes and options have changed. Here are some strategies / options to consider.

• The most convenient flight is the United Dreamliner direct between Denver and Tokyo.
• But you miss out on the Japanese / Asian experience
• And it is expensive
• However: you can travel on United award points.
• One couple booked the Dreamliner one way (Narita -> Denver) for 70,000 points (milage plus economy saver award) plus $77.20 total for the two of them. Very reasonable. (Note: this was in 2015, so things have likely changed.)
• Also, if your travel in Japan does not begin and end in Tokyo, this flight may not be relevant.

 

• A popular alternative is to take United, Frontier, Southwest, or some other domestic airline to LAX (Los Angeles) and then fly Singapore Airlines to Narita
• Singapore airlines is consistently rated one of the top airlines in the world
• Even though Singapore is a partner with United, you cannot use Mileage Plus points to fly on Singapore

 

• Another alternative is American Airlines, which partners with Japan Air Lines
• You have to watch carefully: some flights are operated by AA, some by JAL; to get the Japanese experience you want the flights operated by JAL
• For American you fly out of San Diego or Chicago (if you try other gateway cities you may end up going through these cities anyway).
• (You can fly out of New York (JFK) or Newark, also, but this is really going out of your way if you're Denver based.)


• For this trip, one couple thought they'd try this one way: Denver to Narita, since they had American points to use up.
• Imagine the surprise when they found they could do DEN -> PHX -> SAN -> NRT for just 50,000 award points (plus $11.20). It would cost the same for just the domestic part!
• They booked this leg by talking to the AAdvantage desk (1-800-882-8880) since this routing did not show up online(!) A little scary.
• So the airfare, roundtrip, to Japan on JAL, back on the Dreamliner, cost this couple $89 plus some points they had to spend anyway. (Again, this was in 2015)

Special notes:

You might find cheaper seats by flying in a day or two early. If your schedule can accomidate that, and you're comfortable doing it, you should definitely examine that option.

Other options:

• Use the travel agent for your trip
   
• Use your own travel agent if you have one you have worked with in the past and like.
   
• Consider Scott's Cheap Flights (be sure to read their FAQ page carefully - lots of good information there)
   
• HIS-World out of Las Vegas always seems to find inexpensive flights. Contact Aki Stewart (aki.stewart@his-world.com / 1-702-798-4210)
   
• You don't have to do it yourself, online or otherwise - go with a professional.
   

If you do it yourself:

• Watch out that the quoted travel time is in the 10-17 hours range; I've seen routings that take 29, even 52 hours with multiple stops and layovers!

 

Considerations for post-pandemic travel to / from Japan

(Note: these points are based on an article "Check the Boxes for Overseas Travel" by Nicole Nguyen in the Wall Street Journal of June 28, 2021) but focused on Japan

• Check the CDC sites for current information:
  * CDC: International Travel During COVID-19
  * CDC coronavirus in Japan status
  * COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination
  * CDC Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
  


• Check the Embassy and Consulates page for Japan


• ANA (All Nippon Airlines) has a useful page including what to expect on arrival in Japan


• Create a digital scan of your vaccination card or recent covid-19 test. These can be kept in your digital wallet, Notes app, or your camera Gallery.


• Use your favorite online flight search product, but then book directly with the airline.


• Look for tickets with no change fees. Delta, United, and American have removed these fees except for Basic Economy tickets


• Expedite your check in: use VeriFly (American, British Airways, Japan Airlines) or United's 'Travel Ready Center' in their mobile app; other airlines may have similar options; if you upload your vaccination record or recent negative Covid-19 test result, you can speed your check in process for boarding.


• Plan your return: at this point the U.S. requires all incoming passengers (2 years or older) on international flights to present a negative Covid-19 test certificate that is no more than 72 hours old. The prices range from about $30 to $300. Some resources:
   
  • Real Estate Tokyo lists some testing sites in Tokyo and Osaka
  
  
  • You can get a test at Narita airport; need to allow two hours; cost around $300
  
  
  • Testing sites in Shinbashi and Shinjuku are inexpensive (about $30 for the test, but an additional fee for the certificate, apparently)
  
  
  • The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) has a site here and here that describe a program that make reservations for testing, but there is no link on how to make the reservation (although there are some phone numbers); no prices are listed for the service
  
  
  • An interesting article in the Japan Times mentions sale of self-testing kits that can return results quickly, but it is not clear these test results will be considered valid by airlines