NEW KITAKYUSHU AIRPORT: GOOD START, BUT UNCERTAIN FUTURE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 FUKUOKA 000047 SIPDIS TOKYO FOR ECON AND FCS STATE FOR E, EB AND EAP/J USDOC FOR ITA/IEP/OJ SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON ETRD JA SUBJECT: NEW KITAKYUSHU AIRPORT: GOOD START, BUT UNCERTAIN FUTURE Sensitive but Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution. SUMMARY ¶1. (SBU) The new Kitakyushu Airport, which opened to much local fanfare on March 16, is facing a gradual decline in flight load factors as the initial novelty wanes. According to Kitakyushu Air Terminal Co. President Teruaki Okuno, the airport's long-term success will depend on its ability to strengthen air cargo services and cultivate niche markets untapped by nearby Fukuoka Airport, Kyushu's largest. Moreover, Kitakyushu Airport's role cannot be fully charted until the debate over a new Fukuoka Airport is settled, a process that will take several more years. While Fukuoka's existing airport is near capacity, there is much skepticism over the accuracy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport's (MLIT) projections for future passenger demand in northern Kyushu. In addition, there is concern over the lack of a comprehensive strategy at both the national and local levels regarding regional airport construction. End Summary. NEW AIRPORT'S NOVELTY WEARING OFF ¶2. (U) On March 16, Kitakyushu City (Fukuoka Prefecture's second largest city) inaugurated a new airport located on an artificial island two miles offshore from the previous airport. Built over 12 years at a cost of 170 billion yen (US $1.5 billion),the facility is equipped with a single 2,500-meter runway. Currently, scheduled services include one international (Shanghai) and three domestic (Tokyo/Haneda, Nagoya, Naha) destinations, including 12 daily roundtrips to Tokyo by Star Flyer, a start-up carrier with financial backing from the Kitakyushu business community. While modest, these operations are nevertheless a big improvement over the old airport, which only offered limited service to Tokyo/Haneda. Kitakyushu officials have forecast one million passengers in the airport's first year of operations on the assumption that: 1) Kitakyushu residents who use Fukuoka Airport will largely switch to the new facility, and 2) the new airport will draw additional passengers from Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, and Oita prefectures. ¶3. (SBU) According to statistics obtained from Kitakyushu Air Terminal Co. (KATC),the airport's operating authority, users of the new airport totaled some 370,000 between March 16 - June 30. 
 On domestic flights, these figures resulted in an average load factor of 55.7% per flight. If this level of usage is maintained, the one-million-passenger forecast should be easily achieved in the first year. However, KATC President Teruaki Okuno told post it is still too soon for Kitakyushu to claim success. Specifically, he noted that it is not yet clear whether the new airport is drawing passengers from Fukuoka and elsewhere, or creating new demand. He also pointed to the trend of the load factors (L/F) on all three domestic routes steadily declining with the waning of the airport's novelty: Period 3/16-5/7 3/16-5/31 3/16-6/30 Destination L/F(%) L/F(%) L/F(%) Tokyo/Haneda 60.7% 58.1% 55.2% Nagoya 67.6% 62.2% 57.5% Okinawa 69.7% 64.5% 62.8% Average L/F 61.4% 58.6% 55.7% Okuno indicated that China Southern Airlines' service to Shanghai (three weekly roundtrips) has fared even worse, with load factors hovering under 40% most likely as a result of inconvenient afternoon flight times for business travelers. KEY TO SUCCESS - DIFFERENTIATION FROM FUKUOKA ¶4. (SBU) Okuno opined that in order for Kitakyushu Airport to succeed in the long run, it must: 1) take advantage of its 24-hour operations to strengthen cargo services, and 2) cultivate niche markets untapped by Fukuoka Airport. In both cases, the key is Kitakyushu Airport's ability to differentiate itself from the much larger Fukuoka Airport, where nighttime operations are restricted because of its close-in urban location. ¶5. (U) New cargo carrier Galaxy Airlines is scheduled to FUKUOKA 00000047 002 OF 003 inaugurate late-night service between Kitakyushu and Tokyo/Haneda later this year. China Southern also plans to add cargo services to Shanghai starting this summer. To facilitate these services, MLIT has approved the extension of Kitakyushu's operations to a full 24 hours. This new competition poses concerns for struggling Saga Airport, which opened in 1998; Saga recently carved out a successful niche for itself by offering northern Kyushu's first nighttime air cargo service to Tokyo. In terms of new passenger services, Russia's Vladivostok Airlines is awaiting MLIT approval to operate Kitakyushu-Vladivostok flights twice a week during the summer months. CONTINUING CONTROVERSY: A NEW AIRPORT FOR FUKUOKA? ¶6. (U) According to Okuno, Kitakyushu Airport's future course cannot be fully planned out until the long-standing debate over whether to build a new airport for Fukuoka is settled. The existing Fukuoka Airport, located close to the city center, handles nearly 19 million passengers a year and is near capacity. The airport ranks first in Japan in the frequency of per runway takeoffs and landings (137,510 in 2005) from its single 2,800-meter strip. MLIT growth projections released in early June show Fukuoka far exceeding its effective capacity in takeoffs/landings by 2012, with large increases in passenger numbers. ¶7. (U) MLIT's projections are part of a joint research project initiated in 2003 with Fukuoka prefecture and city to assess future demand at Fukuoka Airport. The committee is expected to decide by the end of JFY 2007 (i.e., March 2008) whether to recommend the construction of a new airport. If a recommendation for construction is made, that result may be included in the GOJ's National Airport Improvement Plan for JFY 2008-2012. Other alternatives being suggested are an expansion of the current airport or greater cooperation with the neighboring Kitakyushu and Saga airports to divide up the northern Kyushu market. ¶8. (SBU) All of these options face substantial obstacles. The cost of building a new airport, assuming a suitable location can even be found, may be prohibitive. For environmental and safety reasons, expanding the current airport - which would require further encroachment into the surrounding, densely built-up urban area - also does not appear feasible. And while officials have talked about "cooperation" among the region's three airports, no one has provided any concrete ideas on how that would work. ¶9. (SBU) Since the argument that Fukuoka needs a new airport is premised in part on expectations for future growth, MLIT's projections are drawing heightened scrutiny. MLIT forecasts growing demand for international traffic as a result of economic growth in, and stronger business ties with, other Asian countries. It also foresees a continuation of the recent trend toward using smaller aircraft (with a big resulting rise in the frequency of takeoffs/landings). However, industry observers are skeptical, as the growth in the frequency of takeoffs/landings and the number of passengers at Fukuoka Airport have leveled off in recent years. Furthermore, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) data show that nine of the fifteen Japanese airports which opened or expanded from 1989-1999 have performed below MLIT's projections. At four of these airports the level is less than 50% of what was projected. ¶10. (SBU) Okuno criticized the debates over airport construction in Kyushu as politically charged. He said the issue illustrates the drawbacks in Japan's existing administrative structure, in which big projects like airports have been pursued for parochial political interests with little connection to real economic need. He also opined that airport projects should be undertaken more strategically and efficiently in a broader administrative framework, such as the "doshusei" proposals to combine existing prefectures into larger regional blocs. This would shift the issue beyond prefectural jurisdictions to better promote both regional and national economic interests, he underscored. COMMENT ¶11. (SBU) The debate over the construction of a new northern Kyushu "hub airport" centered on Fukuoka has been bogged down for years due to squabbling among the governors and prefectures involved. Despite Okuno's criticisms, airport construction will FUKUOKA 00000047 003 OF 003 primarily remain a political rather than economic issue in Kyushu. For instance, Fukuoka Mayor Hirotaro Yamasaki is the primary mover behind Fukuoka's bid to be Japan's candidate for host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and he has publicly tied the Olympics bid with the need to build a new airport in Fukuoka. Local cynics point out that, even if Fukuoka were selected for the Olympics, getting agreement on a new airport and completing construction could not be accomplished by 2016. Still, building a new airport will be part of Mayor Yamasaki's campaign for re-election in November 2006. End Comment. WONG