• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » United Airlines » United Scraps NRT-ICN Flight, Last Intra-Asia Flight from Tokyo Hub
NewsUnited Airlines

United Scraps NRT-ICN Flight, Last Intra-Asia Flight from Tokyo Hub

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 6, 2017November 14, 2023 6 Comments

United Airlines is ending its service between Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon this autumn, eliminating its last remaining intra-Asia flight from its Narita “hub”.

Currently United operates a 737-800 between NRT and ICN on the following schedule:

UA079 / Tokyo – NRT / 1755 – 2045 / Seoul – ICN
UA078 / Seoul – ICN / 1235 – 1455 / Tokyo – NRT

The last flight from Tokyo to Seoul will be on 27 October 2017 while the last flight from Seoul to Tokyo will be on 28 October 2017.

Interestingly, United’s JV partner ANA does not operate the NRT-ICN route, so it not merely a matter of ANA logically taking over a redundant route. ANA does offer frequent service between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Seoul Gimpo (GMP).

Asiana does offer frequent flights between Narita and Incheon, so there will still be Star Alliance connection options, just no longer on United metal.

Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons
Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons

How Can United Still Call Tokyo a Hub?

Back in the day, United served the following Asian cities from Tokyo Narita–

  • Bangkok
  • Hong Kong
  • Manila
  • Shanghai
  • Singapore
  • Taipei

One by one, those routes have disappeared. The most recent to go was Tokyo – Singapore, which vanished after United began non-stop service between San Francisco and Singapore. The NRT-ICN route was already downsized from a 777-200 to a 737-800.

United will still serve all its hubs from Tokyo Narita plus Honolulu, but that means Tokyo no longer falls under the definition of a traditional hub.

United’s last intra-Asia flight will be between Hong Kong and Singapore, though I have to imagine that route will not last long either.

Is This Route Cancellation Related to United’s 747-400 Retirement?

Perhaps not coincidenctilaly, United is also retiring its 747-400 fleet this fall. The final 747 flight is currently scheduled to occur from Seoul Incheon to San Francisco on 29 October 2017. That is one day after the end of the ICN-NRT service.

United likely hopes it can re-allocate that 737 to a more useful route (the aircraft currently sits overnight in Seoul) but with ICN-NRT downguaging from a 747 to a 777 and United focusing on Haneda growth in Tokyo, United likely believes that it no longer needs the connecting flight between NRT and ICN.

This is still a head-scratcher, though, because United serves Seoul only from its San Francisco hub. Tokyo Narita is served from all hubs. The connection made one-stop United service to Seoul possible from all hubs.

With the open slot, perhaps we will see new service to Seoul from Newark. That would be a reasonable exchange, especially with the capacity downgrade from SFO.

CONCLUSION

Part of me laments every route cut that United makes, but this one makes sense. I’m not sure how a 737-800 can ever really compete with 747s and 777s on Asiana or Korean Air and Narita is not the hub it once was. Let’s see if United simply pulls out or adds new service from another hub.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Beef Chili in a Sourdough Bowl: United p.s. Business (+ A Funny Story)
Next Article Witnessing Pol Pot’s Inhumanity in Cambodia

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • a row of monitors on an airplane

    Dreamliner To Rome: Alaska Airlines Confirms First Europe Route

    June 4, 2025
  • a screen on a plane

    Fly Cheaper From Newark: Runway Ready, Fares Falling

    June 2, 2025
  • United JetBlue Partnership

    JetBlue Talked To American And Delta—But United Made The Offer It Couldn’t Refuse

    May 31, 2025

6 Comments

  1. JoEllen Reply
    April 6, 2017 at 1:32 pm

    This also doesn’t look hopeful for UAL employees at Tokyo. How did UA go from an international carrier to a “stop and end in the middle of the route” carrier ?
    Sorry, but using joint carriers and Star Alliance is annoying and just disrupts a smooth ability to get from A to B. All it does is create more room for bag and connection errors, delays, cancellations, little or no protection, longer connections, all kinds of issues. We’re going backwards. If people want a smooth “connection”, they are going to have to overnight somewhere to ensure they will make it to their destination. Dealing with two or three different carriers to get somewhere is a recipe for disaster. As you know from Elliott.org, the passengers are shunted back and forth while each carrier refuses to take responsibility or ownership for any problems.
    Thanks United, another bonehead, brilliant move.

  2. Sexy_Kitten7 Reply
    April 6, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    Well they also call LHR a hub!

  3. mark Reply
    April 6, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    about time…flying on that 737 with the crew from GUM was a nightmare! Compared to the service you’d expect from OZ on that route, UA’s open faced turkey sandwich “snack” was disgusting. I don’t think I ever saw anyone actually eat it and the crew was usually too tired from the GUM-NRT to bother with drinks or refills anyawy.

  4. Rupert Reply
    April 6, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    They won’t be missed – neither the hard product B737 nor the food or service were even remotely competitive. I’d take a non-stop flight or a connection on other *A carriers over this any day.
    I used to make extra efforts to avoid them to Singapore or Bangkok!

  5. Carl Reply
    April 6, 2017 at 11:00 pm

    UA also served PEK from NRT back in the day.

    I remember eating a wonderful tender not-overcooked filet mignon on a wide body NRT-SEL. Don’t remember which Seoul airport it was at that time

  6. Charlie Reply
    September 21, 2017 at 1:55 am

    With the open slot, perhaps we will see new service to Seoul from Houston not from Newark. That would be a reasonable exchange, especially with the capacity downgrade from SFO.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a row of monitors on an airplane
    Dreamliner To Rome: Alaska Airlines Confirms First Europe Route June 4, 2025
  • Hong Kong Photo Essay
    Photo Essay: Resilient Hong Kong June 3, 2025
  • Capital One Venture X Lounge Access Changes
    Capital One Venture X Lounge Access Changes (Mostly Negative) June 3, 2025
  • Personal Air Vent
    Fact: You Have Full Control Over Your Air Vent, Just Like Your Seat Recline June 3, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025
  • United American O’Hare gate dispute
    United Airlines To American Airlines: Fly More, Sue Less May 6, 2025
  • American Airlines 737-800 First Class Pathetic
    American Airlines 737-800 First Class: Pathetic May 6, 2025
  • Israel Flight Cancellations
    Major Carriers Extend Flight Cancellations To Israel: Here’s The List May 14, 2025

Archives

June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.