JAPAN Airlines (JAL) is planning to kick-off two new routes using the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, including the world's first and only nonstop flights between San Diego and Asia, and services to Helsinki in March next year.

The Japan flag carrier is scheduled to commence Tokyo (Narita)-San Diego flights on December 2, 2012. Operated four times a week initially, the service will be boosted to a daily in March 2013.

The second new route, four weekly flights between Tokyo (Narita) and Helsinki, will take off in March 2013. The service will increase to a daily in the middle of financial year 2013.

Meanwhile, JAL is also planning to ramp up frequencies on flights within the region.

The carrier's Tokyo-Singapore service, operated using the 787-8, will take on another daily frequency from October 28, raising the number of weekly flights on the route from 14 to 21.

Furthermore, frequency on its Narita-New Delhi route will be raised from five to seven flights per week starting October 29, while aircraft servicing the route will be upsized to Boeing 777-200ERs (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 25, 2012).