Evolution of outbound charter operations in Japan post-deregulation

Since 2007, Japan has deregulated charter operations to promote outbound tourism. This study investigated changes since deregulation in the spatial patterns of charter departure airports and traffic volume to major destinations. Furthermore, this study analyzed the effects of new entrant airlines on charter network evolution. For the purposes of this paper, charter supply data has been analyzed and case studies of a short-haul route from Japan to Korea, a medium-haul route to Pacific resorts, and a long-haul route to Europe have been conducted. The results suggest that deregulation has resulted in a concentration of charter departures at airports located in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and has had a variety of effects on charter traffic to major destinations. In particular, during the process of deregulation, the role of airlines has been shifted from carriers offering charter services under the requirement of tour operators to a market leader which controls the charter flows.