I finally get to go back to Japan. Year 2013 was horrid as far as turning up an airfare deal from Chicago to Tokyo. The lowest airfare seemingly always required a connection in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you know something about what I typically bring back from Japan; I refused to have to submit to Canadian Customs. 
My travel bot was renewed. I scrunched the prospective visit period to April. In May, summer airfares click on. They're higher. Japan's transportation agency declined to issue additional landing permissions at Tokyo Haneda Airport [HND] to North American carriers; giving the slots temporarily (until October) to tour operators. What finally cracked the airfare barrier was the decision of the U. S. Department of Justice to allow the merger of U. S. Airways with American Airlines. This brought additional capacity on not only those airlines, but other members of OneWorld®, American's affiliate network.
My flexible date search was initially 9 - 23 April. One aspect which I expected to remain was that the lowest-cost flights would be on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday (from the U.S.A.). I was amendable to taking a one-stop to Tokyo, as long as that stop was in the U.S.A. If that connecting flight was to HND; that would be a 'plus' in my book. But I was (and remain) hostile to a returning flight requiring a connection somewhere on the U.S. west coast. {The nightmare scenario involving U.S. Customs tearing through my carry-on, finding nothing improper or undeclared; but requiring me to take another 30 minutes restoring my bag to portable shape; hauling it through the terminal to my departure gate; learning that there was no more room for my carry-on on the connecting flight; and the airline wanting another $50 to check it. So much for the savings on a one-stop flight. :irate:}
The bot was triggered by Google.com/flights; not Kayak or Vayama. It turned up non-stop flights from O'Hare to Narita [ORD-NRT] on American Airlines aircraft, but codeshared out to Malaysia Airlines, a carrier I had not known was part of OneWorld. The dates it offered were Sunday, 13 April to Saturday, 26 April. The winning airfare: $1075.20. I pounced. The flights are MAS 9389 & MAS 9426 (AAL 153 & AAL 154). (I continue to monitor the airfare. Where I booked has the facility of matching a lower airfare within 30 days of booking. This $1075.20 fare is still available if you can stay an additional two days until the 28th.)
This is so far in advance that I can't submit an inquiry to the hostel in Yokohama where I would prefer to stay. He requests that people ask only one month or so ahead.
For this trip, I will probably explore more of Kanagawa Prefecture, particularly the Miura Peninsula. Keikyu offers a one-day special ticket for the area for ¥1400 from Yokohama Station. There will also be excursions into photography, ramen, craftbeer, as well as you-know-what (rhymes with "ehh-seez"). Wish me success. :bigthumbs:
My travel bot was renewed. I scrunched the prospective visit period to April. In May, summer airfares click on. They're higher. Japan's transportation agency declined to issue additional landing permissions at Tokyo Haneda Airport [HND] to North American carriers; giving the slots temporarily (until October) to tour operators. What finally cracked the airfare barrier was the decision of the U. S. Department of Justice to allow the merger of U. S. Airways with American Airlines. This brought additional capacity on not only those airlines, but other members of OneWorld®, American's affiliate network.
My flexible date search was initially 9 - 23 April. One aspect which I expected to remain was that the lowest-cost flights would be on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday (from the U.S.A.). I was amendable to taking a one-stop to Tokyo, as long as that stop was in the U.S.A. If that connecting flight was to HND; that would be a 'plus' in my book. But I was (and remain) hostile to a returning flight requiring a connection somewhere on the U.S. west coast. {The nightmare scenario involving U.S. Customs tearing through my carry-on, finding nothing improper or undeclared; but requiring me to take another 30 minutes restoring my bag to portable shape; hauling it through the terminal to my departure gate; learning that there was no more room for my carry-on on the connecting flight; and the airline wanting another $50 to check it. So much for the savings on a one-stop flight. :irate:}
The bot was triggered by Google.com/flights; not Kayak or Vayama. It turned up non-stop flights from O'Hare to Narita [ORD-NRT] on American Airlines aircraft, but codeshared out to Malaysia Airlines, a carrier I had not known was part of OneWorld. The dates it offered were Sunday, 13 April to Saturday, 26 April. The winning airfare: $1075.20. I pounced. The flights are MAS 9389 & MAS 9426 (AAL 153 & AAL 154). (I continue to monitor the airfare. Where I booked has the facility of matching a lower airfare within 30 days of booking. This $1075.20 fare is still available if you can stay an additional two days until the 28th.)
This is so far in advance that I can't submit an inquiry to the hostel in Yokohama where I would prefer to stay. He requests that people ask only one month or so ahead.
For this trip, I will probably explore more of Kanagawa Prefecture, particularly the Miura Peninsula. Keikyu offers a one-day special ticket for the area for ¥1400 from Yokohama Station. There will also be excursions into photography, ramen, craftbeer, as well as you-know-what (rhymes with "ehh-seez"). Wish me success. :bigthumbs:
