Golden Week Air Travel Grows despite Flu Scare

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)--The number of travelers using national
carriers during Japan's Golden Week holiday period grew from a year before
on both international and domestic routes despite the spread of the new
influenza strain abroad.

Between April 28 and Wednesday, a total of 2,323,604 people took
domestic flights, up 0.2 pct from a year earlier, while 421,161 people
traveled abroad, up 4.3 pct, according to data released by Japanese airlines
Thursday.
Some 4,000 booked seats were left empty on Japan Airlines <9205>
flights bound for Mexico, the United States or Canada and about 2,000 on All
Nippon Airways <9202> flights following the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza A
in Mexico, but flights to other destinations were little affected.
South Korea-bound JAL and ANA flights, in particular, attracted
more travelers than a year before, thanks to sharp cuts in fuel surcharges
and the yen's rise.
Separately, expressway operators in Japan reported twice as many
traffic jams during Golden Week as a year earlier. They attributed the
increase to weekend and holiday toll cuts for vehicles equipped with
electronic toll collection devices.
Average per-day expressway traffic outside major cities was up
about 20 pct, according to data for the period between April 25 and
Wednesday compiled by the expressway operators.
The number of Golden Week travelers on railways operated by six
Japan Railway group companies, however, declined 7 pct from a year before,
apparently due to the effects of expressway toll cuts and the sluggish
economy, according to data covering major railway sections for the period
between April 24 and Wednesday.
The drop was the largest since the 9 pct fall marked in 2003,
according to the JR firms, including East Japan Railway Co. <9020>.