United Continental: US-Japan traffic declines

There has been a decline in the flights from USA to Japan because of the earthquake. United, Delta Air Lines Inc., and American Airlines flew their full schedule of flights to Tokyo. Meanwhile German airlines Lufthansa and Italian airlines Alitalia have shifted their flights from Tokyo to different parts of Japan whereas United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc., and American Airlines flew their full schedule of flights to Tokyo. "Since the earthquake we have seen a modest decline" in overall traffic to and from Japan, said United Continental spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. Besides Tokyo-U.S. flights, United flies between Tokyo and other cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. Traffic from the U.S. to Japan has seen a "measurable decline," she said. Airlines have been waiving the usual fees for changing a ticket. Delta and United also took the more unusual step of offering full refunds for travelers who had not used any part of their ticket. Airlines usually offer refunds on non-refundable tickets only if they cancel the flight but now they are not doing this because of this massive tsunami. Airline shares have fallen sharply this week, with United Continental down 7.7 percent, Delta down 9.2 percent, and American parent AMR Corp. down 2.4 percent.