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When it comes to transpacific travel, there are few markets more lucrative than the corridor between Japan and the United States of America. According to the Pew Research Center, around 1.6 million people with Japanese heritage currently reside in the US, and this, along with strong and consistent demand from the business and leisure sectors, makes for a fertile market where competition runs high and every seat counts.
From the Japanese side of this market, the two main carriers providing direct air links to the US are All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, with the former belonging to the 
Star Alliance and the latter being a oneworld member. While many of these two airlines’ Japan-US routes cover the same ground, there are a handful of notable differences in terms of the routes served and aircraft used. Let’s dive deep into the data and take a closer look.
ANA’s Current US Routes All Start In Tokyo
According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, All Nippon Airways has scheduled a grand total of 465 one-way departures on its various routes from Japan to the US this March. These services will offer 118,358 seats, representing an average of around 254.5 seats per flight. Its most popular routes in this market are from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX), and Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Honolulu (HNL).
It serves these routes twice a day, alongside daily flights from Haneda to Chicago (ORD), Honolulu, Houston (IAH), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), and Washington (IAD), and Narita to Chicago, LAX, and San Francisco. ANA’s aircraft of choice on these routes are the Boeing 777-300ER, 787-8, 787-9, and Airbus A380, and, since 2024, it has partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers MLB team, with Dodgers EVP Lon Rosen saying:
“We are taking advantage of several of our platforms to showcase the ANA brand. Together, these displays will drive brand exposure for ANA to more than 4 million in-stadium fans and millions of fans watching from home.”
JAL Has A More Diverse Offering
Japan Airlines, ANA’s 
oneworld rival, offers a slightly larger US-bound schedule this March, both in terms of the number of flights scheduled and the routes that they serve. Indeed, Cirium’s data shows that, in March 2026, JAL has pencilled in 545 one-way departures on US-bound flights, offering a grand total of 121,319 seats in the process at an average of 222.6 seats per flight. These aircraft also use Airbus and Boeing widebodies.
Specifically, the Boeing 787-9 is the dominant force, accounting for 273 flights, followed by the Airbus A350-1000 (114), 777-300ER (72), 767-300ER (62), and 787-8 (24). The considerably lower figure than ANA as far as average seats per flight is concerned, despite JAL’s use of large widebody aircraft, reflects the premium-heavy configurations present on the aircraft that it flies to the US. ANA’s figures are also boosted by its use of the A380.
jal
JAL flies from four Japanese airports to US cities at present, with Tokyo Narita serving the most: Boston (BOS), Chicago, Guam (GUM), Honolulu, LAX, San Diego (SAN), San Francisco, and Seattle. Across town, JAL flies from Tokyo Haneda to Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Honolulu, LAX, New York, and San Francisco. Elsewhere, there are also JAL flights from Osaka (KIX) to Honolulu and Los Angeles, and Nagoya (NGO) to Honolulu.
Japan Airlines To Resume Tokyo-Chicago Flights & Increase West Coast Frequencies
JAL will partner with American Airlines on the new flight from Tokyo Narita, which supplements its existing service from Tokyo Haneda Airport.
The Bottom Line
When all is said and done, the current facts and figures indicate that Japan Airlines is clearly the dominant Japanese operator on US-bound routes at present in most respects. However, ANA does win on density, with its number of mean seats per flight being more than 30 higher, largely due to its use of the A380 to Honolulu. This does mean that, in some months, it offers more US-bound seats than JAL, and this was the case in February.
While many of these airlines’ US destinations are the same, those that differ tell an interesting tale of alliance membership. Indeed, JAL’s presence and ANA’s absence in Dallas/Fort Worth is notable but understandable, given the former’s oneworld partner having a huge hub there. Likewise, ANA is the only one of the pair flying to Houston and Washington, as these are fortress hubs for United Airlines, one of its fellow Star Alliance members.
