Overview:
United Airlines reconnects Palau to Japan and the U.S. with new year-round flight
PALAU — United Airlines has launched a new year-round direct service between Palau and Tokyo/Narita, offering smoother travel from five major U.S. cities and expanding access to Palau’s world-renowned marine attractions. The inaugural flight was celebrated this week with ceremonies in both Tokyo and Koror, marking a milestone in Palau’s post-pandemic recovery and tourism growth.
By: Faith Chen
PALAU — United Airlines launched a new year-round flight connecting Palau directly to Tokyo/Narita, providing seamless links from five U.S. hubs—New York/Newark, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco—to the island nation through Tokyo.
The inaugural flight from Tokyo, celebrated with a traditional Japanese sake barrel ceremony at Narita Airport on Tuesday, was greeted at Palau International Airport with a water cannon salute and cultural performances. Another gate event will welcome passengers on the first outbound flight from Palau today.
This service opens easier one-stop travel to Palau’s nearly 350 islands, allowing passengers from the U.S. mainland or Tokyo to explore its renowned marine environments, including world-class snorkeling and scuba diving among diverse coral reefs and fish species in the Pacific. In addition, United continues to offer flights to Palau from Guam and Manila.
Steve Morrissey, United’s vice president for International Regulatory and Policy, said the new flights demonstrate the airline’s dedication to enhancing regional connections and boosting local economies. “This new route will provide our customers greater travel choice and the opportunity to visit many attractions in each destination and strengthen our longstanding partnership with Palau,” he said.
Palau’s President, Surangel Whipps Jr., hailed the flight as an important step toward increasing travel, commerce, and cultural ties. “We are grateful to United Airlines for their continued partnership and leadership in reconnecting Palau to the world,” Whipps said. “Their swift action to resume flights after the pandemic, and commitment to restoring our air links, has been crucial to our economic revival.”
The flight schedule includes a departure from Tokyo/Narita at 5:55 p.m., arriving in Palau at 10:50 p.m. local time. Return flights leave Palau at 11:25 a.m., reaching Tokyo at 4 p.m. Flights will be operated by Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 166 seats, including 16 in business class.
Passengers expressed enthusiasm about the new service. A visitor from California said, “Palau is an island that I’ve heard about for years as some of the most pristine, amazing, healthiest reefs. I’ve seen pictures about the rock islands online so it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do and we’ve finally made it! We were in Tokyo for 4 days and here we are in Palau.” Another passenger from New York added, “It was great having the direct flight from Tokyo and it just made it so much easier to get here. We went to Japan to get on the flight here.”
Palasia’s front desk supervisor noted the flight’s impact on tourism, particularly in diving. “We expect to see a lot of repeat guests that we had prior to covid 19 especially from the diving industry. This flight is definitely a game changer for Palau since Japan has been a strong and steady market since the beginning.”