Key Takeaways
• Air India upgrades Delhi-Tokyo Haneda route to daily non-stop flights starting June 15, 2025.
• Expanded codeshare with ANA allows single booking and baggage check for onward cities in India and Japan.
• Haneda Airport’s proximity saves 30+ minutes, improving access and convenience for travelers, students, and businesspeople.
Air India has officially announced that its Delhi-Tokyo Haneda route will soon operate daily, starting June 15, 2025. This news marks a big milestone for travelers, businesses, and students moving between India 🇮🇳 and Japan 🇯🇵. The increase from four flights a week to daily service highlights how much more travel is happening between these countries. It also shows how Air India is working to support growing connections in trade and tourism. Here, we break down what this change means, what travelers can expect, and how it fits into bigger trends connecting India and Japan.
Air India’s New Daily Flight: What to Expect

Starting on June 15, 2025, Air India will run direct, non-stop flights every day between Delhi and Tokyo Haneda Airport. Before this change, the airline only offered this service four times each week. With the daily setup, people now get more flexibility when planning their trips.
Key Service Details
- Route: Delhi (DEL) to Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Frequency: Daily, starting from June 15, 2025 (up from four times weekly)
- Aircraft Used: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- Flight Numbers and Times:
- AI358: Leaves Delhi at 20:00 or 20:20 at night, lands at Tokyo Haneda at 07:55 the next morning.
- AI357: Departs Tokyo Haneda at 11:50 in the morning, arrives in Delhi at 17:25.
- Booking Options: Tickets are open for booking through the Air India website, its app, or with travel agents. Sometimes, promotional fares are available for early bookings on select cabins.
This new arrangement will help people who need to travel for work, study, or family visits. It also makes it easier for anyone connecting to other places in Japan or India.
Why Haneda Airport Makes a Difference
Air India used to fly to Narita International Airport near Tokyo, but now it uses Haneda Airport. This move started in March 2025. The big advantage for travelers is how much closer Haneda is to central Tokyo compared to Narita. Haneda is only about 18 kilometers away and takes just about 30 minutes by car. In contrast, Narita is roughly 60 kilometers from central Tokyo and can take an hour or more to reach.
This shift saves travelers a lot of time, whether they are tourists, business people, or students landing in Japan 🇯🇵 for the first time. The location helps everyone start their day in Tokyo with less stress and more convenience, especially after a long international flight. As reported by VisaVerge.com, these changes are likely to make travel smoother for many travelers in both countries.
Codeshare Partnership Brings More Cities Within Reach
Planning travel, especially when moving between countries, often means more than one flight. Air India’s expanded codeshare relationship with All Nippon Airways (ANA), a Star Alliance partner, is making things much easier.
What Is a Codeshare?
A codeshare is when two airlines share flight operations. In simple words, you can buy one ticket and check your bags all the way to your final stop, even if you have to switch airlines. This makes layovers and connections smoother.
How the Air India-ANA Partnership Helps
- For Travelers to Japan: With this partnership, people landing in Tokyo on Air India can now easily continue to other popular cities in Japan 🇯🇵—for example, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka, and Sapporo—on ANA flights. You don’t need separate tickets.
- For Japanese Travelers to India: On the return, Japanese travelers can access Air India’s large domestic network. They can reach cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune, all without re-checking bags or making separate plans.
- Single Booking, Single Bag Check: The main perk is that travelers get a single booking reference for all legs of their journey and only need to check in their bags once.
Thanks to this deeper airline partnership, people being relocated, students going abroad, or business travelers attending meetings will spend less time worrying about their connections.
Rising Demand: Why Daily Flights Matter
A big reason for this upgrade to daily service is more people moving between India 🇮🇳 and Japan 🇯🇵 than ever before. In 2024, over a quarter million Indians visited Japan, according to the provided sources. This number keeps rising as both countries see more business deals, more educational partnerships, and more tourism on both sides.
Having daily flights is key for all these reasons:
- For Business Travelers: Timing is critical for people working between both countries. Meetings, trade shows, and last-minute business trips now fit more easily into tight schedules.
- For Students: Those studying abroad can leave or return home without having to wait several extra days for the next available flight.
- For Families and Tourists: More departure options mean more flexible travel dates and easier access to family or favorite attractions.
Before, missing one of the four weekly flights could mean waiting days for the next. With daily service, planning is more flexible and less stressful.
Air India’s International Growth and Strategy
This daily flight decision isn’t happening on its own. It’s part of a strategic plan that Air India has put in place after merging with Vistara earlier this year. The airline is focusing on growing its international presence and improving services for key routes where demand is high.
Air India’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nipun Aggarwal, explained, “Expanding our Delhi-Tokyo Haneda service to daily flights reflects Air India’s commitment to meeting the rising demand for travel between India and Japan… This daily service… makes it easier for our guests to explore Japan and connect conveniently…”
Air India is also making it clear that Japan is a priority market. The daily flights show that the airline wants to help build even stronger business ties and friendships between these two countries.
Easing Immigration and Supporting Mobility
This daily direct connection also means a lot for immigration and cross-border mobility. Here’s how:
- For People Relocating: When moving to another country for work or study, direct flights are often much easier. They let you bring more luggage and reduce the worry about missed connections.
- For Immigration Procedures: Many visa holders must enter or exit at certain times to keep their status active. Daily flights mean people won’t risk overstaying, as they’re less likely to get stuck if a flight is full or delayed.
- For Emergency Travel: If a family emergency comes up, travelers now have daily options to fly home, instead of being forced to wait, sometimes for days. This kind of flexibility is a big relief.
For those interested, Japan’s official immigration site provides up-to-date details on visa requirements, categories, and documents required for anyone coming from India or elsewhere. You can visit the Immigration Services Agency of Japan for full explanations and forms: Japan Immigration Services Agency.
Comparing Haneda and Narita: What’s Best for International Arrivals?
Switching to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is one of the best moves for those who want to get into central Tokyo quickly. Before March 2025, Air India flights went to Narita. Narita is much farther away and travelers often had to spend extra time and money getting to the city center.
Now, flying into Haneda means:
- Faster Access to Downtown: Travelers save at least 30 minutes compared to landing at Narita.
- Less Fatigue: After a long flight, a shorter drive or train ride means you can rest, get to your hotel quickly, or make important meetings and appointments on time.
- Easier for People with Visas: Those with time-sensitive immigration steps benefit from reaching government offices or embassies in central Tokyo faster.
This shift is especially helpful for those moving for work, students starting a new semester, or anyone needing to check in at immigration offices after landing.
Real-World Impact: Students, Professionals, and Tourists
Let’s take a closer look at how this shift affects everyday people:
International Students
Japan 🇯🇵 has become a top choice for Indian students in engineering, design, and technology. With daily Air India flights, students starting the school year or heading back home for holidays have more dates to choose from. They also don’t have to wait as long if they miss a flight or have trouble getting a ticket right away.
Skilled Workers and Executives
Many Indian tech professionals and business leaders are taking up jobs in Japan’s big cities. For them, daily direct flights mean less trouble lining up work schedules with flight dates. A short ride from Haneda to Tokyo means less time lost and more time for work.
At the same time, Japanese professionals visiting India for meetings, factory visits, or business events benefit from straightforward connections to India’s commercial hubs. Thanks to the Air India-ANA partnership, it’s now easier to add more cities into a single trip.
Tour Groups and Family Visitors
Tourists, as well as families visiting each other, can now pick the flight that matches their plans without feeling rushed. Onward connections make it simple for extended trips around both countries.
Ticket Information and Promotional Offers
Tickets for the new daily service between Delhi and Tokyo Haneda are open for booking through the official Air India site, its mobile app, or through travel agents. Air India sometimes introduces special deals or discounted fares to celebrate new routes or boost early bookings. Those looking to lock in the best price should keep an eye out for these sales, especially since some airlines offer lower fares for the first few weeks of a new service.
You can check the latest schedules, fare details, and any new promotions on Air India’s official flight booking page: Air India Booking – Delhi to Tokyo.
At a Glance: Quick Summary Table
Here’s a simple view of what’s changing:
Change | Previous | From June 15, 2025 |
---|---|---|
Weekly Frequency | Four/week | Seven/week (Daily) |
Operating Airport in Tokyo | Haneda (since Mar 2025), previously Narita | |
Airline Partnership | With ANA (Star Alliance) | Expanded connections in Japan |
Aircraft Used | Usually Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner | Same |
Looking Ahead: What This Means for the Future
Air India’s move to daily direct Delhi-Tokyo Haneda service on June 15, 2025, is more than just a bigger flight schedule. It shows that demand for travel—both for leisure and for business—is growing fast between India 🇮🇳 and Japan 🇯🇵. The added comfort, convenience, and flexibility from this move will likely make travel smoother for thousands of people each month.
For those dealing with immigration, family reunions, or higher education plans, having more options makes life simpler. Daily flights help make international moves less stressful, reduce the risk of plans being derailed by full flights, and open up more choices for everyone.
In the broader picture, these extra flights may help drive new business partnerships and educational exchanges, and bring the two countries closer—one daily Dreamliner at a time.
In closing, as Air India gears up for its daily Delhi-Tokyo Haneda flights on June 15, 2025, passengers across both India 🇮🇳 and Japan 🇯🇵 can look forward to easier, more reliable, and more comfortable journeys. Travel is getting simpler, and people have more control over their movement and connections between these two important countries. For more official information about travel and immigration rules, check the latest resources on Japan’s Immigration Services Agency, and be sure to monitor Air India’s official channels for booking and updates.
Learn Today
Codeshare → An agreement where two airlines share the same flight, allowing single booking and baggage transfer between different carriers.
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner → A modern, fuel-efficient aircraft used by Air India for long-haul international flights, known for passenger comfort and quiet cabins.
Star Alliance → A global airline network linking multiple carriers—including ANA and Air India—offering streamlined travel across partner airlines.
Haneda Airport → Tokyo’s centrally located airport, closer to downtown than Narita, offering convenience for international arrivals and departures.
Visa Holder → A person legally permitted to enter, stay, or work in a country, requiring specific permissions or documents for immigration control.
This Article in a Nutshell
Daily non-stop Air India flights between Delhi and Tokyo Haneda start June 15, 2025, reflecting soaring demand. The change eases business, study, and family visits while offering codeshare connections with ANA across both countries. Haneda’s central location makes travel faster, boosting mobility, immigration flexibility, and seamless travel for Indian and Japanese communities.
— By VisaVerge.com
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