ANA has announced that it will increase its services to Sydney from 10 to 14 flights per week beginning 26 March.

While both current flights operate at night, each leg of the new second service will operate primarily during daylight hours.

The announcement comes as the Star Alliance member teases its long-awaited return to Perth. Originally scheduled to begin in March, the Tokyo-Narita flights will now start in the airline’s Northern Winter schedule, which begins at the end of October.

The twice-daily Sydney to Tokyo schedule will be as follows beginning on 26 March:

• NH880 will depart Sydney at 9:45 p.m. and arrive in Tokyo Haneda at 5:25 a.m. +1.
• NH890 will depart Sydney at 12:55 p.m. and arrive in Tokyo Haneda at 8:30 p.m.

The return flight from Tokyo Haneda to Sydney is as follows:

• NH879 departs Tokyo at 10:20 p.m. and arrives in Sydney at 9:55 a.m. +1. NH889 departs Tokyo at 8:55 a.m. and arrives in Sydney at 8:30 p.m.

The airline’s flagship Boeing 787, which offers a very spacious lie-flat business class ahead of a smaller premium economy cabin, is used on all flights. In true Japanese fashion, the onboard food is a delectable experience.

On the domestic front, ANA says it is eager to expand its connection with Virgin Australia, which it sees as “the joint goal of both airlines acting as the bridge between Australia and Japan with the best levels of customer care.”

This is expected to include reciprocal status benefits such as earning Velocity Points and status credits on select ANA flights, redeeming Velocity Points on ANA flights, and status-based perks including priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling for Velocity Gold and Platinum members, as well as access to ANA’s business class airport lounges.

The debut of Virgin Australia’s new daily flights between Cairns and Tokyo on 28 June is a likely launchpad for this.